Barbed Wire
by Jamaica
Summary: Tension. Angst. And a healthy dose of blood and action. The lives and drama of our main characters do not end simply when the camera shuts off from them after the game. SeiferSquall and IrvineQuistis.
1. Part I: Discoveries (A)

**Author's Notes: **The characters and anything involving FF8 the game plot belong to Squaresoft. I own the plot of the story. The original characters all belong to me and do not borrow them without permission. I hope I didn't confuse people too badly with my intricate 5 part plot and 7 different points of view. This is a first try at fiction for me.

* * *

**Barbed Wire**

Part I: Discoveries

**Irvine:**

Summer at Balamb was unbearable.

It shouldn't be half as hot as Esthar, but Esthar with all of its high-tech equipments and that huge protective barrier could get rid of the heat quite easily. Gotta give it to Laguna to run the city as smoothly as he did. But here at Balamb, all we students and teachers could do was to wear as little clothing as possible, which wasn't easy considering our uniforms were all long-sleeves and we're required to wear pants, not shorts, except for the females. Why did they get to walk around in those my-god-I-can-so-see-your-underwear mini-skirts, despite their obvious sexiness, while us men had to be stuck in this sticky, hot piece of crap?

I sighed and dried my hair with a towel. I had just finished training in the Training Center with a huge T-Rex. Is it just me or those T-Rexes are getting bigger and bigger and hurt more each time I fought them? I barely defeated it with Diablos and Alexander combined, whereas only Diablos would suffice before. Leveling up sure has its downsides.

I put on my pajamas and jumped into bed. I didn't dare leave the window open, even though I desperately needed the air. Only hot steam would soar in, not cool night air you would expect in Deling City. Now that's a good place to live in.

Call me biased. Hey, I spent most of my nineteen years there. There's gotta be a bond forming simply from that. I wandered around to Galbadia Garden sometimes, but my home didn't belong in Garden. If it did, wouldn't you think I'd be a SeeD already?

Suddenly I heard a groan coming from next door. Hah, Squall's getting it on with Rinoa again. Wait a minute, he couldn't be. Rinoa was in Deling City right now; she said her father called. Well, she didn't exactly use that term, but it's the same person, only different names. So who's Squall banging right now? From the sound of it, it seemed pretty good.

Actually, I wouldn't know. What's "good," I mean. Believe this or not, I'm still a virgin. Yeah, shocking, huh? Everyone here thinks I sleep with someone different every night. Yeah, right. So I flirt and hit on people like crazy. Hey, it's fun. But I had never touched a girl. Or guy, although I am pretty positive I travel down a straight road. It's usually guys giving _me_ the eye, not the other way around. But try to tell these things to any of my friends and they'd laugh in your face. So I just quit after a while. The only person seemed to believe me a little was Quistis. But just a little.

Anyways, these walls at Garden were not very soundproof. When Rinoa first came here, I could hear them as clear as anything. It's annoying. People do want to sleep, you know? But after about three months or so, it stopped. Just suddenly Rinoa stopped coming to Squall's room. They still kissed and hugged and all that in the hallways, but no more night action. I didn't ask. Someone's private life is a dangerous ground to be walking on. Especially Squall's.

Another groan. Geez, I think I'd sleep better in the Training Center with Grats and T-Rexes roaring beside me. Maybe I should move my bed. Oh, wait, these beds were nailed on the floor. Dang it.

I was about to knock on the wall to silence them at least a little until I heard a new voice. My hand froze in mid air and my eyes widened. This voice was male, and it's not Squall's.

It's _male_ and it's _not_ Squall's.

I blinked. Huh. I sat up straighter and continued to listen. Maybe I could figure out who the other guy was by his voice. Dude, that sentence just sound so weird. Squall's gay?

Maybe that's why Rinoa stopped visiting him. The hallway display was just for show. He became headmaster now since Cid retired. He probably needed a normal image. And banging guys in the middle of the night is not quite normal for the average minds.

Me? I don't give. The world is a weird place and whatever he wanted to do is none of my business. Unless, of course, he's keeping me up and I really really wanted to go to sleep.

They're calling out each other's name now. Great. Please stop. It's not like there's nobody else besides me and them in this sector. Oh, wait, there _was_ nobody else besides us in this sector. Squall, being headmaster, had his own sector. The only reason I was here was because I joined the Garden relatively late and they ran out of dorm rooms. They couldn't put me with the junior classmen. I didn't see nothing wrong with that, of course. But some rules said something about it. So I had to share the place with Squall.

And with whoever was banging Squall really good right now. I could hear everything so clearly, except for the person's name. Jesus, come on. At least I should know who was depriving me of my sleep!

I put my ears to the wall. I could hear the other person's voice as clear as anything now. But names, people, names! The voice was a rich baritone. Think. Who had a rich baritone like that here? I assumed it was someone from Garden because no civilians could get in at this hour. Or should.

Whoa. Hold on. I heard it.

I heard it very vaguely. But, but I was pretty sure that's it.

But . . . that's impossible. It couldn't be. Not _him_!

But . . . .

But . . . .

The name from Squall's lips was "Seifer".

* * *

**Squall:**

"Oh God . . . Seifer . . ." I groaned. I didn't know how loud I was. I didn't care. The heat from his body and the surrounding atmosphere was driving me insane.

He kissed me hard on the lips. I struggled under him vainly; knowing him being both taller and heavier there's no way I could escape. And why would I want to? After all these years of tension between us, we finally figured out where it was coming from.

I had always seen Seifer as my ultimate rival. Within good reason, too, considering whenever we saw each other it always ended in fighting. Just look at my scar, and his. And the entire Ultimecia incident did not help much, either.

But after her defeat, everything changed.

I guess Time Compression forced back all of our memories. I could remember things back when I was five years old and living in the Orphanage with Matron. Sis would be watering the flowers in the garden and talking with Quistis. Zell and Selphie and Irvine would run around, playing chase or tag, and Zell would somehow trip and hit his head or scrap his knee. Then Matron would come and patch him up. Seifer would pick on him then, and I would always defend him. And there goes another fight.

We really hated each other back then. I mean, how much do you know about your sexuality when you were five? I always wanted to beat him, to surpass him, and he thought of the same thing of me.

When exactly did things start to change? I didn't know exactly before. GF erased my old memories and my old feelings. But after I got it back . . .

I really did thought I was in love with Rinoa. We seemed to be perfect for each other. I actually thought of proposing to her a few months after the defeat of Ultimecia. But then those feelings rushed back. Feeling acquired when I was in the early teens. Feelings that I no longer remembered I have, or thought I ever had.

I tried ignoring them for a couple of weeks. I thought they're just hormones running wild. Nothing more.

Wrong. Dead wrong in the center.

"You're gone again," Seifer's voice brought me back to the present. "How many times do you do that each day?"

I smiled at him. "I was thinking about you."

"Oh really?" His eyes danced mischievously. "What about me?"

"How you were so mean to Zell when we were little," I ran my fingers down his chest. "And how I hated you back then."

He pushed my hand away. "So what changed?"

"You,"

A sudden seriousness crept into Seifer's eyes. Those beautiful eyes ranging from blue to green, I could get lost in there.

He sighed softly and pushed himself up, off of me. He started to walk toward the bathroom.

"Was it something I said?" I called after him.

"No," He replied. "It's too hot."

It indeed was. The bed cover was pretty much soaked with our sweat and other stuff. I felt icky just lying there. Unfortunately, I only had one clean sheet. I didn't know Seifer's casual visit would turn into _this_.

Seifer reemerged from the bathroom wiping himself with a towel. Another towel was draped on his shoulder. He threw it at me. "Clean up. You look like you've been attacked by a Blobra."

"And whose fault is that?" I wiped off my sweat while climbing off the bed to search for my pajamas. They were somewhere in this room, I was sure. I just needed to find it.

"Aha!" I exclaimed as I successfully retrieved my clothing. They were dry, thank goodness. I couldn't imagine wearing something wet to sleep. That bed alone was enough.

"You're not planning to sleep in that thing, are you?" Seifer asked me as he pulled on his pants. "It doesn't look too comfortable."

"What am I going to do about it?" I asked back.

"You can sleep in my room," That mischievous smile was on his face again.

"Right. And tomorrow morning all of Garden would know about us. Can't allow that to happen."

"And why not?"

"Because it can't." I said exasperatedly. I did not feel like explaining it to him again. He wouldn't understand anyways.

"Because you're scared of what people'll say?"

"Because some things are best left unknown." I stripped the cover off my bed and threw them in the corner. Laundry day would have to come a day sooner.

Without warning, Seifer grabbed both of my wrists, forced me to turn around to face him, and backed me up to the wall, hard.

* * *

**Seifer:**

I pushed his hands above his head so he couldn't resist or hit me. His face was full of surprise and he instinctively tried to break it off. No way he's backing out this time.

"That is bullshit," I told him clearly. "You're not gonna get away with that answer right now. Tell me the real reason why you want to keep this under. Because I am so fucking tired of hiding."

His blue-grey eyes burned into mine. Great, he's talking without talking again. It happened many times before. No wonder he thought I wouldn't understand. Would you be able to understand what someone's trying to say just by looking at his eyes? Short answers, maybe. But not long complicated explanations like the one he needed to offer me. And he needed to offer me it right now.

"Squall!" I exclaimed. I knew my hands were hurting his wrists, but he needed to talk. He had to talk. With his mouth.

"I . . . it . . . can't be helped." He managed.

"What can't be helped!" I was getting very angry. This was one of the few things we argue about now. But it got to me every, single, fucking, time.

"Seifer, I can't."

I growled. I felt like slapping him, but I didn't. Heh, maybe I did change like he said. I knew if this were three years ago, he'd be bleeding and bruised and lying on the floor. But he's fine and standing. And I still couldn't get crap from his mouth.

Did I change for better or worse, I don't know.

"Seifer, please . . . " his tone changed. Oh, shit, don't do that. Don't look at me with that look in your eyes. The half-begging half-hoping look. I can't stand it. I never had to stand it before because he never looked at me that way before. I always picked on him, and he always looked defiant and stubborn. Then we'd fight like hell. Then Quistis or someone had to break us up like hell. His eyes never carried that look at me. Ever.

Until a year ago.

Until I got my memories back. And he his. Every single piece of memory, whether I wanted to or not. Sometimes I still curse at that bitch Ultimecia and her damn Time Compression. Not because she brainwashed me, but because she gave everything back to me. Everything. Including . . .

Well, let's leave it at that. This year felt like heaven. Seriously. I never thought I'd feel this way about anyone. Or would ever feel this way, period. But, I did.

Squall was hesitant when I first found him. He had just been made Headmaster, and the pressure was still at its peak. He didn't want to get tangled in something so complicated yet. So he didn't. Plus, Rinoa was still his very close girlfriend. But after a while, I guess he finally accepted it and they distanced. They're still close to the untrained eye, but I knew better.

I should know better, damn it. I knew the exact date when they stopped sleeping together. And I remembered the exact hour when he called me into his room.

Now that's heaven.

Made me wonder what he saw in Rinoa in the first place. It always made me wonder, since he deserved better than that slut. Yes, slut. And I'm being generous at that term giving that she hadn't done anything to deserve the title "whore" yet.

I mean, come on! When I first met Rinoa, I thought she's wonderful, like any other young man would. She's delightful and sweet and energetic. And she got a nice body. What's not to love? Unfortunately, her attention-giving habit was like a constant thing, and not at one person, I'll tell you that.

I went to Timber's TV station and risked my head for her cause. It's a good cause, I admit. But I did that for _her_. Noble, huh? Well, then, a few days later, she thought I was dead. Actually, Squall told her I was not dead, but still, what did she do? Ran straight into my archenemy's arms. Literally. I mean, I deserve a little bit mourning time than that, don't I? _Days_?

So that pissed me off. Her flirting with others after her thing with Squall was not nonexistent, either. Irvine told me this when we're just talking about stuff. Yeah, I get along with all of them people pretty okay now. Anyway, her attempt to "scratch" Irvine to death was not what you call clean. He told me himself, and coming from a guy with a reputation like his, that's pretty bad. I've also noticed her behavior around Zell. Subtler, yes, but still noticeable. Just watch the way she put her hands behind her back, lower her chest to show off her pretty nice cleavage, and then attempt to have a conversation with Zell. Yeah, right, he's not that stupid. Nobody's that stupid.

Squall didn't say a word about all those. I know he knew, but chose to ignore it. I don't know what Rinoa's trying to accomplish. Did she plan to get inside the pants of all of us guys from the orphanage because she felt left out or what?

I tore myself away from these random thoughts and found myself facing those eyes again. Damn him. Damn him. Stop.

I felt my hands lightened up on his wrists. I wanted to kiss him so badly right now, for he looked so vulnerable. Squall looking vulnerable, since when? But since when did I become so softhearted?

My lips brushed lightly against his. Then I gave in and kissed him with full passion. After we were both rendered breathless, I let him go and turned toward the door.

"Seifer –" Squall started. But I raised my hand to silence him. I knew what he was going to say. I didn't need to hear it again.

I slowed my breathing down, then I picked up my nightshirt and walked out.

* * *

**Quistis:**

A door clicked somewhere down the hall. Then light footsteps followed. Who would be up at two o'clock in the morning?

My hearing had improved greatly these days. Probably because of Siren. She's junctioned to me all the time. We each had our designated GF's now, instead of switching between members. Mine were always going to be Siren, Leviathan, and Doomtrain. I like this combination. It's very well balanced. And the only side effects were positive ones like the improved hearing. Memory loss was no longer an issue. Time Compression altered many things, including the nature of GF's. How odd yet useful.

I waited until the footsteps passed my door before I opened a crack and peeked. It was Seifer. Coming from Squall's room, I guess.

Yes, I know many things that were going on in this Garden. I know the way Squall and Seifer's friendship were going that it's becoming more than friendship. Although they hid it well from the rest of the student body, it didn't go past me. From the heatless eyes of Squall whenever he was with Rinoa, and vice versa, I could tell she knows, too. Of course she knows. She's not naïve and Squall, being as self-conscious and guilt-ridden as he normally is, would have told her already.

Rinoa wouldn't care that much. She had given herself many other fresh opportunities around here. That I know, too.

I sighed slightly and went back to sit on my bed. I was having a severe case of insomnia. For what reason, I didn't know. My mind somehow wandered to the couples of our little orphanage group. Irvine and Selphie. Zell and his girlfriend, what was her name again? I could never remember. Then there's the complicated triangle between Squall, Seifer, and Rinoa. I hope they sort it out.

A sudden case of loneliness enveloped me. I was still alone. Yes, even though I always had the Trepies worshipping me like I'm some kind of goddess. How ridiculous. They admired my skills as a fighter and a few men admire my beauty. Ha, I know what I look like and it's nothing special to be pondered about.

And I also know there were plenty of other students who nonchalantly gave me the nickname "The Bitch from Hell." I knew my own reputations here, too, and not just the good ones.

Dr. Kadowaki had asked me to become her assistant in the infirmary. I agreed. I felt useless anyway after my demoting to SeeD from instructor. Now the Sorceress was gone, SeeD had really become the Elite Mercenary that we once put up as a cover. Dr. Kadowaki was going to retire soon, after the footsteps of Cid. I had a feeling the future doctor of Balamb Garden would be me.

That scared me more than anything else. Me, a doctor? I'm a warrior, not a caregiver. At least I did not think so.

I shivered despite the sweltering heat. Oh, I longed for an arm around me. Strong arms where I can hold on to and a chest where I could put my head. And feel safe.

I remember when Squall went to rescue Rinoa. It doesn't matter what happened to them now, but then, they loved each other. I still remember that single thought when Squall rushed in the Sorceress Memorial and broke the machine with his Lion Heart:_ I wonder if anyone would do this for _me That was the only thought I had in my mind then. It's selfish, I know. I should be happy that they pulled through and everything was all right. I should be happy for them, but I couldn't.

I couldn't.

I felt so empty. Watching the two lovers fell in each other's arms, I could only feel the stinging and empty pain. Not because of my affections for Squall. But the sight and my vacant heart did not mix well.

I chuckled softly to myself. How could I even think of being a doctor? Doctors need a lot of emotional training, especially in a place like this. I couldn't even take the simple emotion of rejection. Rinoa would be better at this than I am. She took Squall's rejection exceptionally well. She had back-ups, perhaps, but still.

Such pain. _Such pain. _

I rubbed my pounding temples with my fingers. Insomnia could really mess you up. I needed a break. I couldn't handle being here, in the Garden, anymore. There wasn't much for me to do, considering Dr. Kadowaki was still here and SeeD missions decreased drastically after the return of peace. In an atmosphere like this, one tends to think too much.

Perhaps I should go visit Matron and Sis down at Centra. Oh, pardon me, they're known as Edea and Ellone by now, right? I could never change the habit of calling them as we called them when we're little. Those were the carefree days. I loved it. I longed to travel back in time, but, after Ultimecia time travel seemed to have lost its luster for all of us.

_Bling! _

The ring of my videophone jolted me out of thought. I glanced at the address; it was from Deling Ciy. Who in the world would call me at way past two in the morning from Deling City? It's probably even later than that over there, considering the time zone change. I reached lazily over to the phone and switched it on.

It was Rinoa.

"Speak of the devil," I murmured under my breath. She couldn't hear me because I hadn't hit the "accept" button yet.

"Quistis?" She asked.

"Yes?"

"I, uh, I have a problem."

And she decided to tell _me _at _this_ hour? Ugh, why do I have to be so mean to her naturally? I forced my tone down to a pleasant scale and asked, "Okay, what is it?"

Rinoa nervously twitched her necklace. "My, uh, that man, um, no, actually, that woman, well, anyways, I need to talk to Squall."

"Then why don't you just call him in his room?" I frowned slightly. Squall had a videophone, too.

"I . . . can't." She was really stumbling. "I need to talk to someone about him, and then I can talk to him."

"About what?"

Then she told me something that I nearly fell off the bed.

* * *

**Rinoa:**

"I need to marry him,"

I watched my words take its toll. Quistis' eyes were wide as saucers and she nearly tumbled down on the floor.

I didn't blame her. My own reaction was worse than this. When that woman told me, with that man, that I needed to marry Squall, I was screaming "What!" on the top of my lungs and backing away. They expected that reaction, so they weren't spooked at all and continued to talk in super steady voices. I needed to marry Squall.

Why? I asked them.

Why, isn't that what you always wanted, dear? That woman said to me in her false lovely tone. He is your true love and you like to marry him some day, right? Why not now?

They didn't know about us. I never told either of them about our, or our lack there of, emotions. Squall was gay. Period. He was in love with Seifer. Period. I was a decoy so the students at Balamb Garden wouldn't look at him funny and lose their respect for the headmaster. Period.

Nothing else.

I wasn't hurt as badly as I thought I would be, which was surprising. In fact, I found myself a new boyfriend only months after our break-up. Nobody knows him. He kept his mouth shut about everything, so I know I can trust him. Squall didn't even know he existed until I decided to tell him because, well, I should. His mind was too focused on Seifer.

I can't marry him. I don't love him anymore! I yelled at those two people. And neither does he!

That woman narrowed her eyes. She looked so evil when she does that. You have to marry him.

Why?

Because you have no choice.

Why?

Then she told me why. And I froze. I couldn't believe my ears. No way. No way!

No way! I exclaimed at her.

Yes. It's true. I know it's true. You have to marry him. Or else.

"M-Marry him?" Quistis' voice quivered. "Why all of a sudden you decided you need to marry him?"

"I didn't decide it! Those two people decided it!" I exclaimed. I was frustrated. And scared. Quistis didn't understand.

"Your father and your stepmother?"

"Yes."

"They don't know?"

I sighed. "I never told them anything. They couldn't take it. The reason they want me to marry Squall is so I can stay at Balamb and never return to Deling City. That woman hates me. I'm not a SeeD. So the only other choice was to become the Headmistress. Or they'll have to support my life when I get back here." This was true. But it's not the main reason.

"But, but you know Squall won't marry you, right?" Quistis's eyes were darting everywhere but at the computer screen. She was lost. Heck, I was lost myself.

"He has to, one way or another," my voice sounded steady and calm all of a sudden. This was it. News breaking time.

Quistis noticed the difference in my tone. She narrowed her eyes and stared at me. Then she seemed to realize something and stared at me in disbelief, but I knew she believed every part of it.

She's quite keen about everything. No wonder they called her the child prodigy.

"You're pregnant, aren't you?"

I nodded silently.

"You stepmother found out about it, didn't she?"

Yes.

"It's not Squall's, right?"

Right.

"But you didn't tell them. And no one else knows. Does the father know?"

No. _I_ didn't know until she told me.

"So they're forcing you to marry him. And you have no choice but to do that. Because if you don't, what'll happen?"

"They'll invade the Garden and punish Squall for getting me pregnant."

Quistis laughed ironically. "Wonderful. Wonderful. Have you considered telling them the truth?"

"I can't. They won't believe me. They don't know anything that's been going on for the past year. Nothing."

She sighed heavily. "Well, what do you want me to do now?"

"Can you come to Deling City soon? Bring Squall and the rest of our friends and we'll meet somewhere and then we can discuss the matter. Please?"

They were my last hope. I didn't know what to do.

"Who's the father?"

"Ryan Sullivan."

Quistis nodded slightly. "I know who he is. He seems to be very responsible. If he finds out, do you think he'll do anything irrational?"

"No, of course not." Not Ryan. I know Ryan. And he knows me.

"Positive?"

Positive.

"Okay, I'll see what I can do. Then I'll contact you."

"Thanks." A lot.

Quistis reached over and turned off the receiver. But right before the screen faded, her expression suddenly changed into shock. Her face turned toward the door as if listening to something. Then she bolted out the room.

What's going on?

* * *

**Zell:**

The first thing I saw on my desk was a pile of letters. Kinda late for delivery, ain't it? The one on top was from Ma.

Ma? She didn't need to mail me nothing. I could just drop by whenever. I mean, it's Balamb. It's seriously _not_ that far.

Then I looked at the letter closely. The handwriting didn't look like Ma's. But it was definitely from my house. Frickin' hell?

I tore the letter open. Ah, it's from Big Bad Rascal's Mom. What did he do this time? I betcha it's some big mess that I gotta fix again. That boy just couldn't stay out of trouble. And I was always the one who fix it. Me.

Kinda ironic, but hey.

I plopped down on a chair and started to read the letter. It's all written in red ink. Urgent, I guess.

_Dear Zell: _

_This is Rascal's mom writing in place for your ma. Hurry and get here. She didn't listen to you and went to get the clover herself and got stung by a bite bug. I can't cure her. This seemed to be a very high level bug that requires some urgent magic. I don't know what to do and she's not in good shape. Help. NOW._

What?

WHAT!

I scanned the letter twice before it dawned on me. Ma!

"Ma! NO!" I screamed loud and jumped up. Damn. Damn!

Why didn't she listen to me? Good God why? She needed the clover to mend my gloves. I told her I would get it myself! I told her! No, she gotta go by herself. Now look what happened.

I growled angrily and threw my fists around. I grabbed some stuff quickly and bolted out the door, slammed it behind me.

I know it's after Garden hours and I shouldn't go anywhere. I didn't care. I really didn't give a damn anymore. Ma's sick and I needed to get there.

Now.

"Zell!" Somebody's yelling behind me.

Sorry, I ain't gonna slow down. I must go straight home.

"Zell! Where are you going? What happened?" It was Quistis.

"I gotta go home!" I yelled back at her.

"Why?" She caught up with me. "What happened?"

"Ma got sick. I gotta go! Don't stop me!" I was halfway down the hall by now. Don't try to stop me. Please.

She didn't. Instead, she ran along side with me.

Oh, yeah, she's the doctor assistant now, huh? This counted as emergency, right?

"HEY!" Another shrill voice sounded far behind us. I think it's Selphie. Geez, my outburst must've pretty damn loud. Oh, well.

Couldn't care less now.

"WAIT UP! YOU GUYS! WHAT'S UP?"

If I didn't wake up the whole school, she sure as hell did.

The door was right in front of us. I zoomed through the security bars and crashed out into the yard. Come on, faster!

"What happened?" Quistis asked me between breaths of air. She's still keeping up with me? Daw, girl.

"Ma got bitten by a nasty old Bite Bug," I answered.

"Oh,"

Nothing more. We flew out the door and onto the road. Balamb, ten minutes away. I bettah make it in five or else.

The night was pretty quiet besides for one or two bugs buzzing around. Those damn bugs. I swear I'll kill every single one of them when I get the chance. Just ya wait.

There's the town. Man, my leg's gettin' tired. Come on, man, you can do it!

I felt like the streets blurred and then I crashed into my door. "Ma!" I yelled out and dashed to my room.

"Shhh! Zell!" Quistis warned me. Oh, yeah, Ma could be sleepin'. Oops. Where is she?

"Zell! Thank goodness you're here!" That's Big Bad Rascal's mom. I stepped in the room where her voice generated.

"Where's Ma?"

"Upstairs," She led me quickly toward my room.

"HEY! GUYS!" Selphie's voice shrilled downstairs. How did she get here so quick?

"Up here! Shhh, Selphie!" Quistis called down there. I looked at the person lying on the bed, and stumbled backwards.

Ma looked horrible.

Her skin was so poisoned it looked blue. Sweat dropped off her forehead. There was a huge bruise on her left arm, probably where the damn bug bit her. She was twisting and turning. Her body was feverishly hot.

Good God help me.

"Ma?" I knelt down beside her. I used Esuna magic and a couple of Remedies. No change at all.

"I tried all the store-bought drugs. None worked. What is going on?" Rascal's mom asked worriedly.

"Mega mega bummer," Selphie exclaimed. "This doesn't look good."

No shit. What was I supposed to do? I felt something hot rolling in my eyes. Then it fell off my cheeks. Jesus, can't cry. I can't cry.

Quistis knelt beside me. She took out a bottle of Elixir and tried it on Ma.

Nothing.

Damn it all!

_Damn it all!

* * *

_


	2. Part I: Discoveries (B)

**

* * *

**

Barbed Wire

Part I: Discoveries

**Selphie:**

Mrs. Dincht looked so terrible. Zell was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Quistis was frowning. And me? I don't know.

Zell's loud scream and cuss words kinda woke me up. I actually didn't know I was asleep until his voice jolted me out of bed. I was thinking about Trabia before I drifted off, I guess.

I missed my friends terribly. Especially now that I could remember _all_ of the experiences and fun I had in Trabia. I missed them so bad.

I remembered every little thing. Me and Jen running around on a hill while Mai try to chase us down. Sometimes we would run into a monster and we'd kill it with ease and laugh when we get victorious. Trabia Garden didn't have many tough monsters. Even if there's a monster we couldn't handle, like an out-of-proportion Snow Lion or something, Steve and Matt would come and they would "rescue" us. It was great.

The four of them were in a band now. They were called the Junk Yard. I only heard them perform once. Once was enough. They could have been major stars if they performed somewhere like Deling City or Esthar, or maybe even Dollet. I don't know.

I missed them.

"Selphie?"

I should go visit Trabia soon. I needed to talk to Squall in the morning for my release.

"Selphie Tilmitt?"

Then I would be the producer again and hear the Junk Yard perform once more.

"Hey, Selphie! People dying here!"

"Huh?" I snapped back to reality. Zell was staring at me like I was a ditzy kid while Quistis simply shook her head. "Sorry, Zell, what?"

"How did you get here so fast?"

"I drove a car," Odd question.

Zell slapped his forehead. "Damn. Why didn't I think of that instead of running? Oh, whatever. Big car?" He turned to me.

"Uh, yeah. What?" He's confusing.

"We're going to take Mrs. Dincht back to Garden," Quistis explained. "I need Dr. Kadowaki's help to confirm what kind of poison she was attacked with. It's too rare for someone like me to cure."

Something odd twitched in her tone. Why did she seem so sad?

"Well, don't just stand there! Help me!" Zell barked. I guess he's too stressed. People get rude when they're stressed.

Zell and I lifted Mrs. Dincht's still form from the bed. She was heavy. Quistis was ahead of us holding the door open. We struggled down the stairs and toward the front door. She was really major heavy.

Somehow we got her in the car and then we all piled inside. I drove. Zell couldn't drive, not in that lunatic condition. Quistis sat by Mrs. Dincht, her eyebrows furrowed together.

About six minutes later, we parked inside the Garden Parking Lot. I cringed a little when I realized I had to help Zell carry Mrs. Dincht to the infirmary. Oh, boy, I'm gonna have a sore something by the time we get there.

"Hey, fellas, what's going . . . whoa!" came a familiar voice from not far.

Irvine! My sweetie just has _per_fect timing in a lot of situations. He saw Mrs. Dincht and his eyes deepened.

"Yeah, man, need a lil' help here." Zell's voice sounded crackly now. Was he crying in the backseat? Yuck. I felt so bad for him. It must've been very very difficult for him. I mean, if he and I switch places, I probably would be bawling. At least he still had his head clear.

"Come on, take her to the infirmary." Quistis bossed. "I'll go get Dr. Kadowaki." She disappeared in front of us.

Irvine and Zell each took one of Mrs. Dincht's arms and carried her down the circular walk. I sauntered behind, trying to help them balance it out. Irvine's a good seven inches taller than Zell, and that would mess up the weight distribution. So I tried to help Mrs. Dincht to be as comfortable as she could be, considering she couldn't move at all. I wonder if she's even conscious.

We finally reached the infirmary. Dr. Kadowaki came up to us immediately and helped Mrs. Dincht on a bed. Zell looked somewhat relieved. He plopped down heavily on a chair and buried his face in his hands.

I walked over and smoothed his hair. Poor baby. His tight neck muscles relaxed a little as I kneaded it.

"What can we do right now?" Irvine asked Quistis quietly. She shrugged and sighed.

"I don't know, Irvine. I tried an Elixir and it didn't work. The only more powerful drugs I know are Hero and Holy War. Where could we get those in Balamb, I . . ." Quistis' voice trailed off.

"Quistis is right," Dr. Kadowaki agreed after she briefly examined Mrs. Dincht. "The Bite Bug was at least in the 90's level. I've only seen a few of these cases."

"Well, we can't just sit here do nothing and watch Ma die!" Zell exploded.

"Calm down, Zell," Irvine soothed him. "She won't die. We won't let her."

"What did you do with those few cases?" Quistis asked Dr. Kadowaki. Good ole Quisty, asking the right questions.

"I made an antidote to cure it before," Dr. Kadowaki continued. "But, I had 100 Heroes or so on my hand at that time. I was lucky. Now where could I find so much Heroes, I don't know."

"Well, if you lack Heroes, then I will find them!" Zell stood up defiantly. "Give me a week and –"

"She doesn't have a week,"

Zell visibly deflated down to zero. The next time he spoke, his voice shook so bad that I thought he was going to break down right there. "H-How long does she . . .?"

Dr. Kadowaki sighed heavily. "Four days. Top."

"Ma!" Zell couldn't control it. I was scared to touch him now, fearing he would detonate. Boy, 100 Heroes. The only person I know who stashes Heroes like that was Jen. She probably had about 500 of them somewhere in T . . ..

Hey, wait a minute.

"How long does it take for someone to come from Trabia to here?" I asked.

All of them looked at me like I was crazy. What? It's a relevant question.

Oh, they didn't know that.

"Uh, about half a day," Irvine answered me. "Selphie, why -?"

"Yes!" I jumped up in jubilation. "Booyaka! I know where we can get all them Heroes! My friend Jen stashes Heroes like crazy. She lives in Trabia. I'll go call her right now and she can come down here by tomorrow and then Dr. Kadowaki could make that potion and Mrs. Dincht'll be all right again!"

And I could also see my friends again and hear Junk Yard perform. Isn't this great?

I was so proud of myself.

* * *

**Irvine:**

The grin on Selphie's face told all of us clearly that she wasn't joking.

And her next predictable move was dashing out the infirmary, completely ignoring us standing there gaping at her, and vanished.

"Uh –" Zell, who finally calmed down enough, or should I say, stupefied at the moment by his fellow friend's action, fumbled. No kidding. I don't think there's any other person on this huge full planet with the energy of little Tilmitt. If there was, I sure haven't met them.

She's a little firecracker ready to explode. In a totally positive way, of course, but nevertheless, a firecracker.

"Well, what simple way to solve a rather tricky problem," Quistis commented. She looked more bewildered than relieved, as for all of us. "Selphie probably will invite all her friends over from Trabia. She told me something about a band a couple of days ago."

"I'll keep her on some stabling medicine for now," Dr. Kadowaki returned her attention to Mrs. Dincht. "You kids try to get some more sleep out of the night. It's not quite 3:30 yet. Zell," he looked up at her, "it's going to be okay."

He exhaled a deep breath; obviously he's been holding that in for a while. "I'm gonna stay here for the night, 'k? Y'all go ahead. Sorry for keepin' ya up."

"No prob. Glad to help." I turned toward the door. Sleep, goodness, I wonder if I'll be able sleep at all tonight. Too much excitement is really troublesome on some occasions.

"Yeah, and thanks."

I grinned to myself. It's really kinda rare to hear Zell say an appreciation sincerely. Sure, he shows almost everything on his face. But they're all exaggerated beyond belief. How many times a year had you seen Zell with a very sincere and serious expression? Almost never, right?

I was about to go when I saw Quistis staring blankly at a wall. She looked so tired. What's up? Oh, right, not everyone has an inexhaustible amount of energy like Selphie. I keep forgetting that.

"Walk you back?" I extended my hand to her. Her eyes refocused on me with a little surprise at first, then she smiled and took my offer.

Hey, I was named the charmer for a reason.

"Sleepy?" I asked her as we strolled back toward the dormitory. What kind of idiotic question was that? No duh she's sleepy. It's the wee hour of the morning.

"I wish," she chuckled slightly.

Huh?

"How come?" I glanced at her. She sick?

"Insomnia. I had that problem ever since I was young."

"You're _still_ young," I said to her. I wasn't trying to twist her words, but she's making me feel old. I don't like feeling old. She's just one year older than me. One.

She seemed to be surprised at that comment. " . . . Thanks."

"What? Nobody ever told you that before?" She must've been joking.

Quistis shook her head. Then she smiled again, more to herself than me, and asked, "So why are you up?"

"Zell woke me."

A little mischievous smile glistened on her lips. "Right. Squall and Seifer keeping you up, huh?"

Whoa. Somebody knew their surrounding. "Yeah. How did you know?"

She sighed a little. "It's kind of obvious. To people who know them, that is."

Okay. To her, maybe. _I_ know them, and I didn't figure out crud until I heard them just a few hours ago. And I still couldn't figure out why or how in the world could those two rivals end up slamming each other, but who cares.

Wait, how did Quistis automatically assume that I know what's going on? I did live next door to Squall, but still. Squall and Seifer obviously care about people knowing their little secret. So what's Quistis doing spreading the word?

Or maybe I was just paranoid. What's wrong with me? Why's my mind rambling right now? Ha, this's funny. Irvine Kinneas caught in an un-suave moment. Very rare. The night really did take its toll on me without me realizing it, huh?

"You're suddenly quiet," Quistis's voice rang beside me. "Are you nervous about something?"

"No. Why?"

"Your hands are clammy."

They indeed were. I hadn't let go of her hand yet. I hadn't even _realized_ we were holding hands until now. Wait up, I was really out of it tonight. Usually when I offer someone a hand, either them or me would've dropped the gesture when we started walking. That's suave, you know. A little subtlety goes a long way. But look what happened?

I seriously better get some sleep.

Quistis stopped in front of her door. "Well, thanks for walking with me. Get some sleep."

"Yes, Instructor," I joked. I gotta recover some of my oddly lost wit. "And sweet dreams to you, too."

The minute that left my mouth I felt like slapping myself. She just told me she's suffering from insomnia. Duh! Don't say that sentence. Should offer her some Sleep spells. Should have said something as simple as "See ya later in the morning." Yeah, now that was more than enough. Dang it.

OK, Kinneas. Something's wrong with you. So many fumbles in one night. This gotta be a record.

She, however, only smiled once more and went in her room. There's something nagging about that smile, though. I couldn't figure it out, but there was something.

Well, whatever it was, I was in no condition to figure it out. I needed some shut-eye, very badly. So after a moment of pondering, I shrugged and walked back toward my room. Hopefully Squall and Seifer were asleep by now.

My neighbors were silent, at least for now. Good. I opened and closed my door in one motion, careful not to slam anything. No more pounding noise coming from the wall. Great.

The only thing left that even resembled pounding was the beating of my own heart.

* * *

**Squall:**

I woke up with a pain in my back. Ouch, shouldn't try to push myself up on my arms. That was refreshing, I thought as the sting completely defogged my head. Where was I?

I looked around and discovered that I spent the night on the floor. My eyes trailed over to the soiled bed cover in the corner and everything came back to me. My goodness, I managed to anger him again with the same issue, didn't I?

How many times had this issue come up? Every time, I hid myself. Every time, I ran away from his questioning glares. And every time I hurt him. Deep.

I didn't want this. No, I never wanted to hurt him. But, I couldn't face it. I couldn't face the reality of me. Of us. Not with all these people in Balamb Garden surrounding us every day.

Heh, I laughed bitterly at myself. All in all, I was still jumpy around people. I was still afraid of getting out of my protective shell and face people. Will little Squall ever grow up?

Too many thoughts for one morning! I grunted in frustration and climbed up from the floor. I went to the bathroom and splashed water all over my face. That felt good.

I quickly peeled off my pajamas and got dressed in the usual attire: white shirt, black jacket, slightly tight black pants with all my belts and bullets for my gunblade, and boots. I opened the door and walked toward the cafeteria.

Only Quistis was there when I strolled in. She looked awful, like she hadn't slept in weeks. A pale pallor dampened her usually bright face. She was sitting there, drinking some orange juice. She looked up at me when I slid next to her.

" 'Morning," she greeted me.

" 'Morning. Rough night?" I asked her.

She smiled a little. "Yeah. Pretty much. You didn't hear Zell's outburst last night?"

Nope. I was out like a dog. I shook my head.

"What happened?"

Before she could explain anything, though, another figure glided across from me. Without even looking up, but simply from the sound of his cowboy boots, I knew it's none other than Irvine, with his coffee. Coffee and cowboy seemed weird to me, but everyone got their quirks, and I was in no mood of analyzing anyone else's habit right now.

"Sup?" He grinned his famous seductive smirk.

"I'm trying to bring Squall up-to-date with the situation," Quistis replied. "Mrs. Dincht got poisoned by a high-level Bite Bug. Zell found out about it the hard way, through a letter. We were pretty much busy with trying to figure out a cure for Mrs. Dincht."

"Oh?" I raised an eyebrow. How come no one informed me? I was, after all, the Headmaster.

"So that's why that chicken-wuss was screaming bloody murder at around two this morning, right?"

Seifer plopped himself next to Irvine, across from Quistis and diagonally from me. Quistis rolled her eyes and sighed. "Seifer, show at least some kind of respect for Zell during a time like this, please. He's still down at the Infirmary. I'm going to take him some breakfast later."

"No need. Ms. Overly-Hyper-Drive was on her way down there. She just told me to tell you, Headmaster, that she'll be in Balamb all day, waiting for her friends from Trabia." Seifer's tone masked a sneer.

"Selphie's friends are coming from Trabia?" I frowned. I felt like I had missed out a week's events.

"You are being a very good Headmaster right now. Aren't you supposed to know everything that's going on here?" Seifer was trying to get on my nerves. Our little cover act, of course, but today was a little bit overboard.

"Back off!" I snapped.

"I was going to inform him until you interrupted me, Seifer," Quistis was getting fed up with his bullshit. She didn't know what's really going on. I had the sudden urge to tell her he's acting and so was I. It's not like that between us, really.

Irvine suddenly snickered. "You know, if you want to chat with Squall, why don't you go sit next to him, Seifer? Spare me the caught-in-the-middle position and save you some energy from trying to get at him but not touch me at the same time."

My head snapped up. What!

Seifer was gaping at him.

Quistis had a hint of laughter in her eyes, and no surprise at all.

Irvine simply returned my stare. His expression had "I'm not stupid like you two idiots thought I am and I know exactly what's going on for a long time now" written all over it.

"Clever," Seifer finally said. However, the glistening in his eyes told me he's up to something. Seifer doesn't like being caught in a surprise. "So . . . tell me, what made you suspect us?"

Irvine stiffened. He glared at Seifer and braced himself abruptly against the table. Seifer grinned wickedly. I noticed his hands had disappeared under the table.

"Seifer," A very noticeable strain crept into Irvine's calm voice. "Get off me."

Quistis stifled a laughter beside me. "Aw, what?" Seifer coaxed. "The great Casanova is not used to a little attention from the same sex?"

Irvine was indeed blushing. More from discomfort and anger than whatever Seifer was obviously hinting at. He stared into the still grinning blonde in the eye, then suddenly leaned forward and kissed Seifer full on the lips.

"Whoa!" We all jumped up from the table. All from shock except for Irvine himself. What does he think he's doing! That's _my_ Seifer he was kissing.

I realized I was suddenly jealous. Very jealous, in fact. My eyes were probably spitting out green acid. And what's worse, I couldn't even defend my boyfriend. Because everyone else around us didn't know about us. Because I didn't have enough guts to admit it.

I felt anger flared up within myself. Seifer was so right. I was a coward.

I made up my mind right then. If Seifer brings up the subject again, I would not run away. I would accept it. And I would tell people without shame.

* * *

**Seifer:**

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" I exclaimed.

Irvine's smirk could split wood. "I thought you might enjoy it." Then he added silently. "Faggot."

My eyes got even wider. Nobody ever said that to me in that tone. What the fuck? Was Kinneas looking for decapitation or what?

"Hey, hey, boys, stop it." Quistis stepped between us. She was laughing a minute earlier, but the mirth was all gone now. "Irvine, apologize."

He looked at her. "Why?"

"That was rude. I'm not gonna trash down cuss words, but that word is rude. I don't care what you straight men talk about when you're alone, but not in front of me. Apologize to Seifer."

He continued to stare at her, but with more respect in his eyes now. Then he turned to me and said sincerely. "I'm sorry."

I nodded briefly. I gotta remember to thank Quistis later.

Was this what Squall was so afraid of once we go public? Name-calling and shit like that?

"What was _that_!" A voice sounded loudly behind us. Leave it to that little chicken-wuss to make awkward situations even more obvious.

"Nothing." Squall finally spoke up. "What are you doing up here? I thought Selphie brought you breakfast already?"

"Yeah, she did. I'm here to thank some people for helpin' me last night. But . . . what was that?" Zell crossed his arms.

"How is your mom?" I switched the subject again. "She okay?"

"She will be perfectly fine once Selphie get those damn Heroes she promised." Seeing that everyone here didn't want to talk about the subject, Zell conformed. "That's one issue outta my head for now."

"That's good, because I have another issue coming up. And it involves pretty much all of us here." Quistis suddenly stated. Christ, what now? "But, this is not the place to discuss it. You guys set a time later when we can get away from this Garden. And a place where there'll be no chance of running into any other students or faculties."

Huh? "Why?" I asked.

"I'll tell you when we get there."

"Well, wouldn't Selphie be left out because she will be around her Trabia friends today?" Irvine questioned. He should be concerned since she's his girl and all.

Quistis sighed. "I haven't thought about that. But this is pretty urgent, so I guess I'll tell her later. Or one of you could, but anyways. Come on, aren't you men supposed to decide without hesitation?"

"The Triangle, then." I said.

They all looked at me questioningly, besides Squall, who knows exactly what I was talking about. Sometimes we would sneak out the Garden and run around in Balamb. We would go to this little dark club that few people heard of, and no Garden students would dare go into, if I must say so. I didn't give a damn about it, and Squall shouldn't, either. That's the only place we've been where he would kiss me and grind without worrying about any kind of shit. We haven't been there lately, though.

"It's a nightclub in Balamb," Squall explained. "I . . . well, _we_'ve been there a couple of times. No chance of running into any Garden people."

"We?" Zell asked. Idiot.

Quistis and Squall exchanged a glance. I scoffed. Irvine simply stood there. His sudden quietness somehow disturbed me. Irvine never shut up. He doesn't say stupid things, but he never shut up.

"I need to go check on Mrs. Dincht." Quistis said. Squall thought for a second, then followed her footsteps. Headmaster duty, I guess. Zell still looked confused. He shrugged and happily tailed after them. Heh, at least he's smart enough to ask Squall or Quistis rather than me his questions.

"Guess it's a boy's night out, eh? Well, with Quistis, but still." Irvine said to me.

Boy, he sure was confident. Even foolhardy. I mean, if it's not for Quistis, I'd bashed out his head after that kiss. Or at least we would be fighting in the middle of the cafeteria. I didn't care. Now he's still talking to me like nothing happened. Haven't met anyone this brash for a while now. Chicken-wuss was, like his name, a chicken wuss in front of me even though he acted all crazy. And Squall wouldn't back down if I challenged him, but it's always me challenging him, not the other way around. But this guy . . ..

I didn't even do shit to him. Well, maybe a little. But all I did was put my hand on his thigh. That's it. I hate being surprised and he caught me in an awkward moment. I gotta give him something to remember.

Didn't expect it to turn back on me, though. Smartass.

"Trying to figure out how to get me back, eh?" Shut the fuck up.

"If it's not for Quistis, you'd be dead now." I sneered at him.

"It kinda surprised me a lil' when your boyfriend didn't kill me after he saw me do that. Why do you suppose Squall just watched and said nothing?"

Whoa. What's he getting at? I narrowed my eyes.

"Don't have to look at me like that, hon." Irvine's tone turned a shade more serious. "Hopefully after this he'll be more willing to talk it out with ya. Well, anyways, I gotta bolt. See ya some time later." He turned around and left.

I stared at his back. What the fuck . . .?

Suddenly it hit me. Just like that, it rammed me hard in the head. Little bastard! Fucking little bastard. He knew exactly what he was doing. I underestimated him. No wonder he's such a charm around here. He understood my problem without me saying a single damn word. Girls would kill for a guy like that.

Guys, too.

Shit. I gotta find a way to thank _him_ now. Shit!

* * *

**Quistis:**

"OK, _now_ can you tell me what was that back there?" Zell persisted. He felt safe enough to yell now since we're in my room.

Mrs. Dincht was doing well. Dr. Kadowaki said she had all of the antidote's ingredients ready except the Heroes, which wouldn't be any problem once Selphie's friends get here. She also somehow conjured up a potion to extend Mrs. Dincht's energy for a week, so we had more time than we started with. Zell was very relieved. Or he wouldn't even agree with going to the Triangle or wherever Seifer had said we're going tonight.

"How much did you see?" Squall asked. He chose to explain it himself? Huh, I thought it would fall on me, as usual.

Guess Irvine really knew what he was doing.

"Everything after Mr. Casanova kissed Seifer. Is there something I should know about them? Shouldn't be, right? Cuz Seifer looked pretty pissed."

"No, there's nothing going on between them." Squall took a deep breath. "However . . ."

He couldn't continue. Zell was standing there waiting for him to finish. Oh, please, Zell, think!

"Irvine did that to make me jealous." Squall finally said.

"Jealous? Of what? Or, why?" asked Zell. Then, his eyes flashed. He gasped and backed up a few steps. "Naw! For real! But . . . aren't you with Rinoa? Isn't Seifer you ultimate rival? What the heck . . .!"

"Zell!" I interrupted his string of outbursts. Someone was going to hear him, even with all these walls. We heard him fine last night.

"Why would Irvine want to make you jealous?" Zell lowered his voice.

Squall shrugged. "I have no idea."

Huh. I thought he was keen enough to figure it out. "Isn't it obvious? Look what you're doing right now." I said to him.

"What?"

"You're telling Zell about you and Seifer. That's one step closer to admit to yourself and not be hiding from it anymore."

Squall's eyes darted around. He was thinking hard. "I, I guess. Wait, how do _you_ know so much about us, Quistis? We're that obvious?"

I smiled. "No. I hear you two argue sometimes, among other things." His face turned a shade of red. "My hearing improved recently because of my GF. Squall, if you hadn't felt the jealousy of Seifer kissing someone else, would you even decide to at least tell your immediate friends about you two?"

"I - I guess not. You mean Irvine did it to help us?"

"To help you. Seifer was more than willing to go public, that much was obvious. Remember the first time you admitted out loud your affection for Rinoa was right when she was in a coma? I think you need some shock or other intense emotions in order to face yourself and others. Don't you agree?"

He didn't say anything this time, but nodded.

"Well then, it's all good." Zell piped. "I gotta go run some errands for Dr. Kadowaki. So I'll see y'all tonight. Where do we meet?"

"We'll meet at the gate. No, wait, that would be too conspicuous. Let's meet at your house in Balamb. Around . . . what time, Squall?" I asked him.

"Uh, 8 o'clock." He said.

"Okay. Zell, would you mind telling Seifer and Irvine that? I have other things to discuss with Squall." I did. It would be better if he knows about Rinoa before I break it to everyone else.

" 'K. I'm gone, then. See ya cats round latah!" Zell disappeared from my room.

I went to my computer to turn on the videophone. Might as well call Rinoa and let her tell him herself. I didn't pay much attention to Squall until I felt his gaze on my back.

"What?" I paused my hands.

"Isn't it kind of wrong not letting Selphie in on this?"

That couldn't be helped. She was with her friends tonight. "Squall, she has guests coming."

"So? We're a clique. We can't just leave one member out on an important issue. And this one sounds unusually important."

Look who's talking. "I don't remember you telling any of us, save maybe Rinoa, about you and Seifer, either."

"That's different. I didn't organize a meeting and specifically leave out somebody. There's a lot of things we could have done to involve Selphie in on this. You just didn't bother with it. That's not like you. Usually you don't miss out a single detail and would try all kinds of methods to accomplish something. What's going on?"

I didn't know what he was talking about. I did not intentionally leave off Selphie. I didn't.

Did I?

Why would I intentionally leave Selphie out on something like this? She possessed absolutely no threat to me in any way with any of my relationship with the boys. The only way you could be threatened by someone like Selphie is if you like –

If you –

Oh dear God. No. I could not be. No! Was I depressed and lonely enough to grasp a straw as unsteady as that one?

"Quistis?" Squall's voice crept inside my head. The outsider always sees the situation more clearly than the ones involved. That is so true.

" . . . . . . " What could I say?

And since when did Squall suddenly become talkative?

"Look, I'm just saying," His tone softened a little. "I'm just wondering what the others would think. It's not like it's just a boy's night's out. From that address written by your computer, I'm guessing this thing involves Rinoa, too. So that's everyone involved in Ultimecia except Ellone. And Selphie's not present for it? If I didn't ask this, then Irvine or Zell or even Seifer, would. Wouldn't Selphie's feelings be hurt when she finds out about the meeting? You know she hates being left out of anything."

Somewhere in the very back of my mind I felt a smile. A cruel smile. Oh, God, I couldn't be this awful! I wanted Selphie to get hurt. Because I was jealous.

I was so jealous of her. Being the object of his affection. His.

Since when had I felt this way? Since my insomnia struck? Or was it because of this that I had insomnia in the first place?

Guess he didn't just make Squall jealous today. The Great Casanova, indeed.

The room was spinning. I needed air. Fresh air. Please.

"Squall," my voice quivered. "Call Caraway's Mansion and talk to Rinoa, please. I, I need to get out."

He started to say something else, but I bolted out the door before any word reached my ears. Run.

Quistis, you're pathetic.

* * *

**Rinoa:**

Sigh.

I was bored out of my mind. That man locked me in this room again. How predictable. He wouldn't let me go anywhere now until I convince Squall to marry me. I mean, how rational was that? You don't just lock your daughter up in a room. Whoever your daughter loves is her business, not yours!

I missed Ryan. I couldn't call him because he didn't have a videophone. I could try calling Quistis again and ask her to put him on the line. But then people would suspect something if he go into her room for privacy. Gossip's worth its weight in gold, and frequently they're awful.

I wondered if she told any of the guys yet. I know, I know, it's only been one day, but I still wondered.

Sigh again. I was so bored. I wished Zone was here. Or Watts. Or even my dog, Angelo. That woman hated my dog and she kicked it out of the house. Hey, that was _my_ dog, not hers. She had no right to treat Angelo that way.

_Bling! _

Hey! My videophone! Maybe it's Quistis. Finally!

I jumped up from my chair and reached to turn the computer on. The screen blinked. It was indeed from Balamb Garden room B17. All right!

Squall's face stared up at me.

Huh? Where's Quistis?

"Rinoa?" He asked.

"Uh, yeah. Hi. Where's Quistis?" I stammered. I hadn't expected him to call me. Did she tell him already?

"She's . . . busy right now. She told me to call you and said you have something you need to tell me. What's going on?"

What? I had to tell him? Me? Yeah, it's me who wanted to tell him in the first place, but the whole reason I called her was so someone would be there with me so I won't tell him alone. She, she just left me hanging like this? How could she! Meany.

"Well?" Squall looked at me. He was so clueless.

I didn't want to do this now. I was scared. Very very scared.

He was patient. Squall was always patient. Sometimes that drove me nuts. Say something else. Come on!

I took a deep breath. I needed it. "Well, it's like this . . .."

His eyes kept getting bigger and bigger as I explained. When I was finally done, the first words form his mouth was "Are you absolutely out of your mind!"

"No! If I am, then I won't even be discussing this with you right now!" I exclaimed. He's so mean at times. "What do you want to me to do, huh? You want to marry me or want to see the Garden destroyed?"

"Neither. The Garden is not easily destroyable."

"Yeah, that's a good answer. You reputation is, though." Please, he didn't want the stuff between him and Seifer to get out.

Squall laughed bitterly. "Hah. I think my reputation is already destroyed. But you know what? I don't care. _You_ do. You don't want your reputation be degraded any lower, do you?"

Ah! Little . . . How dare he! I swear, if I was there with him, I would've clawed out his eyes with my bare hands.

"You, you, shut up!" was all I could manage.

"Rinoa, get this straight. I can't marry you. I won't marry you." He waved his hands in frustration. "It's not fair to you, me, Seifer, _or_ Ryan. I can't do it."

"Do you honestly think I want to marry you any more than you want to marry me?" I cried. I so needed to slap him. "I know we can't be together. What I want to discuss to you and all the others is that what in the world are we going to do about it. About them and their threat. _That's_ why I called Quistis."

Seeing me losing it somehow made him cool down. "We're gonna discuss it tonight. We can't do it in the Garden, too conspicuous. I'll call you then."

"Wait, I have to participate?"

"Of course. How could I explain this?"

"Quistis can."

He sighed. His expression changed somewhat. Odd. "Rinoa, when you called Quistis, did she seem . . . unusual to you?"

"What?" What was he talking about? "No." Other than the fact it was a little odd to find her still all dressed and awake around, what time was it there? 2 or 3 o'clock? But I guess she's been busy being a doctor's assistant. Patients are timeless.

"Never mind then. We'll call you tonight."

"Around what time?"

"Uh, 9 or something. Here that is. I don't know what time that would be in Deling City."

"That'll be midnight. Okay. Hey, Squall, I got a question. What happened last night?"

"What are you talking about?"

"After I called Quistis, she bolted out the door as if she heard something. Somebody screaming or what?"

Confusion spreaded on Squall's face, but he quickly recovered. "Oh. That. Um, it was Zell. I'll tell you about that later, too."

Zell. That itself explained a lot of things. "Okay. I'll see all of you tonight then."

"Yeah, bye."

"Bye."

_Click_. I closed the videophone. Imagine what expression each person would wear when I tell them the news! Squall and Quistis probably would be calm, since they knew already. Seifer, oh goodness, he'd freak. So would Zell. He'd freak for different reasons than Seifer would, but they're both gonna be loud, I could see it. Selphie, hmm, would be like "Mega mega mega bummer." Or something like that. She did not act or look like a nineteen-year-old, but nevertheless was one. And Irvine probably would be the one trying to calm everyone down and suggest some practical solutions. He might be driven by his hormones most of the time, but when something serious really did show up, he'd be the one with the most common sense. You just couldn't tell by the way he approaches it, though.

Oh, well. Guess I just had to wait 'til tonight to figure out this crazy situation. Watch it becomes something simple. I mean, it's weird, but crazy stuff usually end in simple ways, it's the simple stuff that'll kill ya.

* * *


	3. Part II: Complications (A)

**

* * *

**

Barbed Wire

Part II: Complications

**Zell:**

"You're not planning to wear _that_ to the Triangle, are you?"

Seifer's snide remark hit me from behind. Figured he'd be the first one here. If not to make fun of me, then say something smart about my place or my attire or something. Asshole.

"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" I said defensively. I had on a white T-shirt, blue shorts, and my red sneakers. There's nothing wrong with this! I especially didn't spike my hair. I know the tattoo was kinda eye-catching, but that's something I can't do about. We're trying to go to this normal club right? So I needed to look normal. And what we wore in the Garden was not really normal, I had to say.

But after I turned around, my eyes got kinda big. Seifer was wearing his trench coat, yeah, duh. But underneath he just wore his black pants and went topless. He got on that silver choker he always wore, and get this, a nipple ring. Whoa, since when? . . . Oh, nevermind, don't wanna know!

"What are you staring at, chicken-wuss?" Seifer sneered.

"STOP CALLING ME THAT!" I jumped at him. I absolutely _hate_ being called that by anyone. Especially by him.

Seifer dodged my blow. Just then, the door opened and I ran right into someone coming in. "Whoa!" I staggered a little and regained my balance. I heard a snicker. Seifer, one of these days . . . Just ya wait.

It was Squall. He looked different, too. An off-white shirt clung to his body, accentuating his muscles. Instead of his usual feathery jacket, he had on a plain black leather jacket, a little bit leaning on the tight side. Black pants with about two million belts on, except this time, the belts were chains. He had on all this usual jewelry and his hair was as disheveled as anything.

"What's up with you two?" I exclaimed. "Y'all look like y'all are gonna go beat up somebody or something. I thought we're going clubbing?"

"What kind of club do you think we're going to?" Squall walked to stand beside Seifer. Lovers, my foot. They make me sick.

As you could tell, I'm not much of a gay person.

"Normal one," I answered.

Seifer rolled his eyes. "You never heard of the Triangle, have you?"

"No," I admitted. "So? I'm not a freak! Goodness, just what'll happen to me if I walk in that club dressed in these?" I gestured at my outfit. I betcha Ma would agree with me. Thank all the world that she's gonna be okay.

"You're gonna get beat up without even setting your foot in the hall," A voice sounded behind me. I swooshed around, only to be shocked out of my head. Again.

Irvine was leaning on the doorframe, but he had a complete color change. He wore a simple black vest that hugged his hips. Tight dark denim jeans nicely shaped his long legs. The jeans were torn at the knees, obviously on purpose, and the waist was so low that it barely reached his navel. He had the same cowboy boots and hat on, but the outfit itself screamed "Hot damn!" to everyone around him, girls _and_ guys. Now I ain't gay and I ain't attracted to guys whatsoever, but I gotta say Kinneas outdid himself this time. He looked sexy as hell.

And judging from the expression on the other two guys' faces, I wasn't the only one thinkin' that.

"Okay, okay, I got your point," I said impatiently. "But I ain't got nothing to wear. I have nothing black or tight or leather or nothing!"

"You don't have to dress _exactly_ like us, Zell," Irvine said to me as he strolled in the living room. "Just not . . . that."

Tch, fine.

I was about to go upstairs to change when my door opened one last time. This time, clunking sound of high heels zipped through. Huh. I wonder how Quistis pulled this off and whether she knew what the club was really like.

I felt myself stiffen. Every other guy in the room was frozen, too. Oh my God in heaven somewhere, this couldn't be our Instructor Trepe, could it?

Quistis was astonishing. She had let her beautiful long hair down, for once, and brushed it stick straight. She wore dark makeup, like black eyeshadow and eyeliner and stuff like that. Her lipstick was blackberry wine colored, very rich. She had on a dark blue iridescent dress, with spaghetti straps on her shoulders. The neckline was not super low and therefore didn't reveal anything too dirty. However, the dress's slit was high up on her thigh, and on both sides, too. A single wide golden belt curved her hips. Her boots were those kind with a skinny little heel. You know, the kind you always wonder how a woman could even possibly walk in without falling on her face before she covers two meters. Those boots were blackish, too, with a green sheen, and they came all the way up to her knee. She had on two sparkling earrings and they jingled as she moved, a gold cross necklace, and some stringy bracelets on one wrist and a cuff on the other. A purse draped casually from her left shoulder.

I couldn't move. I couldn't even talk. Damn. She didn't look very modest, but she definitely didn't look slutty. She just looked, so, sexy.

"Well, are we going or are you just going to stand here staring at me?" Quistis smiled at us. She checked us out each from head to toe, then her eyes landed on me. "Zell, you are not planning to wear that, are you?"

"Uh, not anymore," I managed to find my voice. Jesus, she looked so hot. I really needed to change, fast. I wondered what she'll be like once we get there.

I ran upstairs as fast as I could and rummaged through my closet. Finally, I managed to throw on a dark grey shirt and some green shorts. I know it didn't really match, but who cares? I re-spiked my hair. Well, might as well look punk. That Triangle club should accept punk at least. I didn't feel like getting rejected at the door because I didn't dress appropriately.

The first thing I saw when I came back downstairs was Seifer and Squall tonguing each other. Puh-lease, man! Then I saw Irvine talking to Quistis. Well, more like drooling over her. That guy really needed some stuff in his head to shut down those hormone drives. What's worse was that Quistis didn't seem to mind at all. She was actually kinda flirting back.

Whoa. We're all gone crazy. Yep, that's the problem. This night-out thing was a really really bad idea. Oh, yeah.

"Ahem!" I cleared my throat loudly. "We goin'?"

"We're waiting for you, kittie-cat." Seifer purred at me. Disgusting. Stop it, please. I stuck out my middle finger at him. He just laughed and headed toward the door. Squall followed.

"Hey, you may not hog her all night, cowboy," I walked up to Irvine and pointed to his face. "There's another straight man here."

"What, you want a piece of the action, too?" Irvine smirked. "OK. But that's for the lady to decide."

Quistis looked at me, smiled a weird smile, and then hooked her hand through Irvine's arm. "Zell, you are so cute." She said. Oh no, I don't like where this's going. "But I like to kiss up to a guy, not down."

Oooh. Damn! What the hell? "Somebody drugged you or something?" They gotta. What the hell happened to the modest and serious Instructor? She was behaving so much like, like, I don't know, somebody else.

And she's not that much taller than me, even with her three inch heels. Nope. I ain't that short.

What's this? Being-Mean-To-Zell-In-Any-Way-Possible Night? What did I do?

Man, I wish Selphie's here. Then she'd keep that cowboy in check and Quistis would have to stick with me if she wanted someone to hang on to for the night. Geez. Of all the rotten luck.

I hope Selphie's having more fun than I was right now.

* * *

**Selphie:**

"Jen!" I yelled and ran toward the four of them, especially Jen in the middle right. "Ohmigod y'all are actually here I'm so excited and man, I miss y'all so much!" I gushed. Man, it's been forever!

"Whoa, whoa, jeez louize Selphie, or should I say S-Bomb?" Jen grinned and hugged me. Then all four of them said loudly together: "Freeze it down!"

"Shut up! You guys are so mean!" I pouted jokingly. Oh, I missed them so bad so bad so bad!

"So what's up on your side of the mountain?" Steve asked, swung an arm around me as the five of us walked out of Balamb Train Station. The early evening's air rustled at my face.

"A lot of stuff," I answered him. "Oh, wait, I heard you and Matt changed your names? Why?"

"Because Steve is such a dorky name. I mean, come on, we're in a band called Junk Yard, and my name is _Steve_? That's so Hexadragon." Steve told me.

"What?" What is 'so Hexadragon?'

"Ugh!" Mai groaned. "Would you stop constantly using monsters to describe stuff? He picked that up from somewhere. 'So Hexadragon ' is like, you know," she chewed down on her gum, "not cool. Hexadragon is like the fire monster, and fire is not cold, so it's not cool."

"Stop saying crap about me, Jamaica! You won't ever stop chewing gum." Steve ranted back.

Mai stuck her tongue out at Steve. Jen giggled beside me. As usual, I didn't hear much from Matt yet.

"Hey, Matt," I called up to him. I was still the shortest among them. Mai used to be around my height, but she got a growth spurt some time while we're apart, and with those chunky platforms she towered above me. "What's up with your name? Don't all of you have a name that start with a 'J' now?"

"Mmh-hmm." His husky voice replied. "My name is Jocifer."

"Jeep," said Steve.

"Jamaica, but of course that is my actual full name, you just don't use it." Mai said.

"And my name is . . . ta da . . . Jen. How exciting." Jen was always the sarcastic one. We used to label her "The Sarcasm Queen." We still do.

"So you gotta get one, too," Mai poked me in the ribs.

"Why?"

"Because you're gonna perform with us. Wait, we _are_ going to perform here in your Garden, right?"

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, _Jamaica_, why did you think I invited you here in the first place?"

"Ahem,"

I looked up. Jen was pointing to a big bag tightly sealed with some rope. Oh, yeah, the Heroes. Right.

"Because of this?" Jen smirked. Oh shush.

"Wow, this town is pretty nice," Steve remarked. "Hey, you got any clubs. Let's go clubbing!"

"Yeah, definitely!" Mai shrieked loudly. And she was calling _me_ the S-Bomb? "Got anything good here? Wait, I think there's this weird little cult club or something. What's it called?" She smacked her gum. "Joce, you know?"

"The Triangle," Matt replied.

"NO!" Steve suddenly stopped. What? We all stared at him.

"What, Steve?" I asked.

"My name is 'Jeep.' And no, I will not go anywhere near a cult club. Okay?" He picked up his suitcase again, which he had dropped when he stopped.

"Why not?" I didn't understand. Steve wasn't this jumpy or scardy when I left him last. "What did y'all girls do to him?"

Jen snickered. "The only person here capable of doing anything to scare him like that won't look right in a skirt."

Mai cracked up.

Huh?

"Even if he attempts to," Jen added.

"Jesus, Jen!" Matt slapped Jen on the head. Mai was laughing so hard now that she spit her gum out and it flew on the gravel. I was still confused. Matt's not, wait, what?

"You –" I pointed absentmindedly at Steve. " – you're gay?"

"NO! I AM ANYTHING BUT THAT! SCARE ME, MS. SMARTYPANTS. _SCARE_ ME!" He was hollering now. Yeah, holler like that in Balamb and see what the street people's expressions were like. It was a bummer.

"He's homophobic," Mai told me while she took out another piece of gum. "Some guy was hitting on him after a concert and they tried to do something and he got so scared after that."

"What did they do?" I asked.

"He won't tell us," Jen said. "And no, Jocifer had absolutely nothing to do with this. I was just making him mad."

"You damn sure were," Matt grumbled. He fell silent after that.

"OK, well, we gotta go somewhere. I got waaaayyyy too much energy to burn off." I chimed. "I know another club that's like, regular, very very regular, so Mr. Homophobia here won't run away screaming. It's on the other side of town, though."

"What's the name?" Mai popped a bubble in her mouth. Okay, so it was not just chewing gum, but bubble gum. I want one.

"Orange," I replied. "Can I have some gum?" I extended my hand.

"Really? Major cool." Mai handed me a square.

"Um, shouldn't we go back to your Garden and drop these off first?" Steve asked. He indicated the suitcases and bags them four were carrying. Good point.

"Yeah, well, the Garden's out of this town. But I got y'all a car, so we're good." I turned from my previous direction and went toward the town's door. "Come on!"

"Anybody gay you know?" Steve asked timidly. He seemed super homophobic. Goodness, what did those goons do to him?

"No. I'm pretty sure the Garden support regular couples more. If people know stuff, they aren't telling anybody about it. I don't know anyone, so relax." I assured him. He was wrung tight. "Hey, Matt, whatcha looking at?"

"Nothing. A bunch of people in all dark clothing just walked off. Probably heading to the Triangle." He shrugged.

"Yeah, right, I'm sure _that's_ what you're looking at." Mai smirked. "You were checkin' out that chick in that blue dress, weren't you? I saw ya. Uh-huh, no running away from that."

"Too bad she's not available." Jen grinned, too. "See how she was hanging on to that guy, who's quite cute, by the way. You know them, Selph?"

Dark-clothing people? Nope. All my friends are quite colorful. Well, except Squall, but, it's Squall. "Uh-uh. Y'all are so slow, man! Stop looking at Balamb people right now. We can look at them later at the club. Race y'all to the car!"

With that, I ran off ahead. They soon followed, but I was way faster. Well, I didn't have those suitcases, but that doesn't count. No way.

This felt so right and familiar. I felt like I was home again. That's a feeling I could use for a long long time.

* * *

**Squall:**

I could hear the music's beat before I even approached the door. The Triangle wasn't that big, yet its sound system was so wonderful that I could get lost in it within seconds. But one bad thing about it was that it would certainly distract all of us from concentrating on our problem. Or, my problem. We sure picked a good place for serious conversation.

"Well, here we are. How long has it been? Four months?" Seifer's voice sounded to my right. It had indeed been awhile since the last time we came.

"About," I replied. "You guys ready?" I turned my head back toward my other companions. Quistis and Irvine were laughing at something, while Zell was looking at the road, visibly sulking. He seemed jealous or mad, or both. Ah, so I was not the only one who became suddenly interested in our dear Instructor.

"Yeah," Irvine said back to me. "It's not like I haven't been to a cult club before."

"He's such a bad liar," Seifer nibbled at my ear. "I bet he never even came within two blocks of somewhere like here before. He's just too damn proud and trying too hard to be suave to admit that."

I looked at him surprisingly. "You _are_ talking about the worldly gunman back there, right?" Nothing Irvine had done would surprise me.

Seifer snickered. "Yeah, right, that's just a stupid image."

I opened my mouth to say something else, but Seifer wrapped his arm around my waist and kissed me on the temple. "Come on, baby, let's go have some fun."

I smiled darkly to myself. Yes. Fun. Without any fear present back in Garden. I leaned my head on Seifer's shoulder and we walked into the black scene. I glanced back for a second, making sure the others were following us. They were. I then turned my attention back to the room full of dancing people, music, sweat, liquor, and other substances.

"Where are we going?" Quistis came up to us. She had a lost look in her eyes, but they were also full of excitement. It had been a while since I saw her excited about anything. Months, at least.

"A table first," Seifer answered her. He scanned around the room. Then he led me toward the back corner. We moved through the moving people. I felt stiff. I wanted, no, needed, to be out there. I needed Seifer out there with me, grinding into me with the beat. I wanted _him_.

"Damn," Zell looked around the scene as we all got an empty table and seated ourselves. "This is place is so . . . nasty."

"Really?" Seifer smirked. "Scared?"

"No way!" Zell immediately got defensive. "I ain't scared of nothing!"

"Oh? So if –"

"Shut up! Shut up!" Zell plugged his ears. "I also don't need you conjuring up scenes just to see if I am scared of them."

"So you are scared of something," Seifer continued. He could be such an asshole when he wants to be.

"Geez, leave him alone for one second." Irvine cut in.

Seifer raised his eyebrow. "Why are you defending him?"

"No reason. Aren't you tired of being an ass sometimes? Because I certainly am tired of your remarks."

All right. The cowboy wanted to deliberately go against Seifer. And he was doing a pretty good job. I thought those words he uttered won't be heard until somebody's in Hell. Maybe I should say something. Seifer's my boyfriend, after all.

"I'm going to get drinks," Quistis stood up, deliberately distracting those two. "I'm getting a Margarita, what do you all want?"

"Tequila," I said. The rest of them agreed except for Irvine, who ordered Vodka straight up.

"Wait, this place doesn't even check for I.D.?" Zell asked disbelievingly. "They could have kids like under 15 here."

"I doubt that," I said to him. "Plus, if you have enough guts to come in here, you have enough reason to drink."

"Whoa, then we shouldn't let a lady go somewhere by herself, now should we?" Irvine started to get up, but Zell beat him to the clock.

"I'll go!" He jumped off the chair and dashed into the crowd.

"Desperate much?" Seifer snickered again. His eyes wandered for two seconds and turned back on Irvine. "So, tell me, you gay?"

Irvine looked at him like he was crazy. Then he smiled a little. "No."

"Bi?"

"No."

Seifer narrowed his eyes. "Somehow I don't believe you."

"Suit yourself."

"Don't worry," he said each syllable clearly. "I will. Hey, Squall, you want to dance?"

Wanted that for a while now. "Sure." I took his offered hand and walked toward the dance floor. The music was moderate-paced but had a very good bass. Perfect.

Seifer had thrown his trenchcoat on his chair before he took me out on to a desolate spot. I smiled. The light in the room bounced off his muscles in a seductive gleam. I had a sudden urge to lick his nipple ring. But before I could do anything he bent down and kissed me. Sweet.

I started to move with the music ringing in my ears. My hips slowly began to rotate against his. It felt nice. Seifer released my mouth and started to move with me. He was a good dancer, even though nobody would expect it.

I noticed we were beginning to catch people's attention. Probably not because of the gender thing, but of Seifer's naked torso. Eye candy, as they called it. Well, people, back off. He's mine.

"Enjoying yourself?" Seifer asked me.

I nodded. "I haven't felt this good for way too long."

He chuckled. Then his eyes turned serious. "I . . . I'm really sorry about last night. I didn't mean to –"

"It's okay," I cut him off. "You were right. It's my fault. I don't want to keep us undercover, but I was truly scared. Truly."

"I know. It's just so frustrating to not be able to . . . well, first of all, it's fun to watch people freak. And second of all –"

Fun? But he didn't get to finish his thought, for I heard Quistis' voice calling out my name. I was more than a little disappointed. I mean, we were just getting started.

But, I guess it's business first and fun later.

* * *

**Rinoa:**

It's already past 12:30. Why aren't they calling? Hello? Please, I really wanted to get this over with. I needed the ideas. I needed Squall. I needed, well, some solution so I won't be caught in a stupid loveless marriage along with three other unhappy men.

Pretending sucks. It really does.

_Bling! _

Yes! Finally.

I stood up from the chair I was sitting on and walked to the computer. The screen flashed on. These calls seemed routine by this point. I wish I were in Balamb.

No, actually, I wish I were in Timber. That's where Ryan's at at the moment. He crashed at the house of the leader of Forest Fox, to avoid any Galbadian disturbances from that man. Since Timber's been liberated, there was a slim chance of any Galbadian officials there anyway. But, you never know.

Whoa. What was that?

I stared at my screen. What had happened to everyone? They were all dressed so dark and… well, dark. Even Zell. Where are they? What happened?

"Uh, hi." I squeezed the words out. My throat felt kind of dry. "How's everybody doing?"

"Rinoa, it's okay. We haven't all gone crazy or anything." Irvine smiled. They sure looked like it. "We're at The Triangle. It would be kinda suspicious if we showed up all spit-spat, so, we conformed."

The Triangle. Well, that explained it.

"So, what's up?" Seifer asked me. "What's your big emergency?"

"Quistis hadn't tell you yet?" That girl did not intend to help me at all, did she? She probably still had lingering feelings for Squall, and was using this as an opportunity to get back at me. Wait, that's not right. This is Quistis. She wouldn't do such a thing to me. Plus, she knew Squall's gay.

"No. I was hoping you would." Seifer took a sip of his drink, whatever it was.

Great. Again. But I really shouldn't be complaining. After all, I was the one asking for help.

So I shrugged and explained the entire episode to them again. It's getting annoying. But that's what happens when everyone's at different places at different times.

The first reaction was from Zell, who hopped up from his chair and exclaimed "What!" so loudly that I bet the people around them were staring. The second one stood up was Seifer. That figures, too. He wouldn't be too happy about my request. What was I supposed to do? I was locked up already.

"You can't marry him," Seifer told me simply with a hint of menace in his tone.

"No kidding!" I exclaimed. "I don't want to. The question is how can I make those two people change their minds."

"They're going to invade the Garden if she doesn't." Quistis added. "I don't think we're in tip-top shape to fight the entire Galbadian army. Again."

"The entire army? What, that Carraway guy is the leader now or something?" asked Zell.

"Yeah, dumbass, where have you been for the past six months?" Seifer snickered. Zell flicked him off and was about to pounce on him, but Irvine dragged his wrist back down on the table.

"Hey! You're supposed to be helping me here, not fighting among yourselves. So far I haven't heard a suggestion yet." I was angry. What was up with them? They weren't being too friendly.

Irvine's sharp gaze suddenly shot at me. He then laughed softly and leaned on his arms on the table. "Rinoa, it really isn't our problem."

What?

"Don't give me that look." All the others were looking at him now. "If the kid's Squall's, then I'm sure we'll be more than willing to help you on this thing. But the kid's last name will be Sullivan, not Leonhart. So don't scream at us like it's our fault you're in trouble. Guilt trips aren't that easy to take."

I felt my lips came apart. "Guilt trips? What are you talking about? I'm in distress!"

"Why don't you just tell them the truth? Tell them Squall is gay and he has a boyfriend and the kid is not his but Ryan's. See what they'll do."

"They won't believe me," Didn't he understand?

"How do you know if you haven't even tried?"

"It won't work. You don't understand!"

"We won't until you tell us," Squall's quiet voice came out liquidly. "What's the worst they'll do to you?"

"They already locked me up!" I didn't know what's the worst they'll do. I really didn't. Maybe Irvine and Quistis were right. Maybe.

Zell scoffed. "Now look, girl, I _know_ there's no way anyone can lock _you_ anywhere if you don't want to be there."

Okay, how's this helping me? "Wait, why are you all taking sides with Kinneas?" His reputation shouldn't make his words at all convincing. Yet . . .

"Something wrong with me?" Irvine's voice became kind of jagged.

I cocked my head. "Aren't you the type who wants to be a girl's big studly protector? I thought the first person to get me out of this jam would be you, but guess not. Meany."

He smiled. "I _am_ helping you. First you go to your father and tell him the truth. If he reacted badly to it, why don't you just go and find Ryan and marry him? I thought you were always against your father anyways. Plus, according to you, all they cared about is you not staying in their house. If they're that inconsiderate and heartless, then they shouldn't give a damn about whom you're actually living with. Go with Ryan and live in, I don't know, Esthar or something."

That wouldn't work. Talking to that man, first of all, was impossible. "Impossible."

"Really? Or are you just too afraid to do it? Too afraid to admit that he's right for once and there are consequences to your actions?"

My actions? This pimp was talking about _my_ actions? "Me? Look who's talking!"

He smiled again. He really needed to stop it. "Rinoa, how many girls that I've hit on are the damsel-in-distress type? I have yet to get with a needy girl."

"Hey!" He wanted to be suave and hint that I'm helpless, fine. "If you're calling me that, well, remember you did hit on me, too."

"That was when we first met. It became the other way around after a while, didn't it?"

Dirty bastard! I did _not_ throw myself at him, thank you very much. Seifer started laughing. "She sure did." He then turned to me. "You did."

"Uh-huh." Zell agreed.

What was this? This was crap! They . . . ugh! "Squall? Quistis?" Where's Selphie when you needed her? She wouldn't be cracking on me at this moment. No, she'd be here giving me a good solution.

"Irvine's suggestion is actually . . . pretty good." Quistis said. "Maybe you should try –"

"Out of the question! You know what? This is a mistake. I shouldn't even ask any of you in the first place. Forget it. Forget it! So if the entire Galbadian army comes on top of your head, don't be mad at me. Good night."

I turned off the computer and slammed it shut.

* * *

**Seifer:**

"Bitch."

I glanced at Irvine. I figured he gotta be a little drunk to tell Rinoa all those stuff he said. I mean, _I_ wouldn't even say those things to her. He didn't look that sober, that's for sure. There was a faint flush on his cheeks and neck, making him look even sexier.

"So what happened to the womanizer?" Zell downed his own drink. "You didn't charm Rinoa much."

"I don't charm that kind of woman." Irvine shrugged.

"Since when did you become selective of your target?" I poured myself the rest of the Tequila bottle. Quistis brought at least four bottles, and now we're down to one. So it was fair to say that all of us were a little tipsy at this moment. "I thought you hit on anything that breathe."

"Watch it, man." He pointed at me. Then he turned toward Quistis. "You want to dance?"

She giggled. It was so odd to hear someone like her giggle. "Sure." She took his hand and walked toward the dance floor.

I heard a loud sigh coming from Zell. Huh? Chicken-wuss was a little jealous. Fuck, that guy makes everybody jealous.

"Green much, chicken?"

"Shut up!" he growled at me.

Squall, who was sitting between us two, sighed. "Zell, why don't you just go to the dance floor and chat up a girl? You are at a club. Go grab a spoon. Or are you scared that your girlfriend might disapprove?"

Zell laughed a short, bitter laugh. "Ha, she dumped me like, a hell of a long time ago. Saying I wasn't sincere enough. Tch. And as of this minute, the only spoon I want to grab is Quistis." He didn't take Squall's bait. Stupid. Do all people stare at good advice in the face and ignore it like it's bad for them or something?

I looked away to search for the dancing couple. I found them somewhere in the back corner. Holy shit, what the fuck were they doing?

Well, I didn't know what it looked like to others, but to me, they were dancing like everyone else was dancing there. That means they're basically screwing each other on the floor with their clothes on. No, pardon, with _some_ of their clothes on. You ever seen lap dance in a strip bar? Well, it looked like that, only vertical.

"The hell?" Squall noticed them too. "That can _not_ be Quistis. Right?"

"Man, what did y'all give her? I said somebody drugged her, now I'm _very_ sure they did." Zell stood up and crossed his arms. "I'm gonna go over there and . . ."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, sit your ass back down, boy." I pushed him back down on his seat. "I got it covered, okay? Just sit here for now."

Zell's eyes were huge. "Wha . . . What are you doing?"

I grinned. "That would be none of your business. Come on." I dragged Squall with me, toward the two twisting freaks. Well, maybe I shouldn't call them that considering what I used to do here, but I'm gonna. I stopped a few yards away from them and spun Squall into my arm.

"Dance." I ordered. And we did.

"What _are_ you doing?" he asked me softly in my ear. His breath tickled my earlobe. My back was to Irvine and Quistis now, so I could only rely on Squall's observation.

"What are _they_ doing?" I asked.

"Dancing."

I smiled. "Does that cowboy look hot to you?"

He pulled back immediately with a shocked expression. It was so funny. "Seifer!"

"Does he?"

He paused for a second. Aha, pauses in this case means yes. I mean, come on, Kinneas was so fucking sexy I felt like raping him. But of course I wouldn't. No, I'm not _that_ horrible. Anyways, Squall sighed a little and put his head back on my shoulder. "What do you plan to do?"

Now he's on my boat. "Not much. But, you know, I pity that chicken-wuss. What do you say we give him a chance?"

"How?"

"Simple. Keep Kinneas busy."

"Busy?"

"Oh, all right. Pry him away from Quistis and fuck with him. Just a little, though. Get him back fair and square about that kiss this morning."

"You _still_ haven't let go of that? You were messing with him first."

"So what if I was! He surprised me. Now I'm gonna surprise him. You game?"

Squall scoffed. "You're nasty, do you know that?" Right. There was an odd glimmer in his eyes. "But," he grinned. "I'm game."

I stopped my dancing. "Come on, then." We made our way through the dub daze and stopped right by the two. They halted as soon as they saw us coming. Quistis seemed even more drunk now. In fact, she seemed high.

"So, what's up?" Irvine asked us. He could tell we were up to something. Ha.

"Nothing. Um, we need to talk to you for second. Well, I need to talk to you for a second." I said. "And Zell was kinda down. It's not really fair that you get all the spotlight and he get nothing."

Quistis smiled genuinely. "Okay, okay, I got your point. I was being unfair to him, that's true. You go ahead, talk. I'll go sit down."

After her slim figure disappeared behind the crowd, I turned my attention back to Kinneas. He cocked his head. "You're here to pry me away from my girl?"

"She's not your girl." Squall said defensively. "This isn't the place to talk. Follow me." He walked off even further to the corner. I knew where he's headed. He's going toward one of those hidden rooms where the lights would just barely miss the door. It was designed that way for, um, activities besides dancing. Okay, fine, it was screwing each other's brain out. However, Irvine, being a first-timer like I know he was, looked confused.

Squall pushed open one of the vacant rooms and we three strolled in. I closed and locked the door behind me. Show time.

I remained behind Irvine. He was looking at Squall. "What do you want?" He asked.

The magic words. I walked quickly up to him, grabbed his wrists and wrung them behind his back. He didn't struggle at first, but then the shock wore off and I felt the muscles tightened under my hands. Strong muscles, too. So I leaned over and licked a spot on his neck. "You." I whispered the answer into his ear.

Well, that must've worked, because he stopped struggling. A half-bitter half-ironic laugh escaped his throat. "Did I not plainly state that I'm not interested?"

"Well, you're at least not homophobic because you're not freaking out." I started kissing down his throat. He was warm, thanks to all those alcohol. I ran my tongue back up, found a spot, and started to suck on it. He's not gonna leave the room without a hickie.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Squall came up to us. He reached down and opened up Irvine's vest, then dropped it on the floor. He knelt down halfway and started to kiss one of Irvine's nipples. I knew he wanted to do that before we even left Zell's house. Oh, trust me, I know my lover. He won't admit his silent desires, but I know them.

A light moan came from Irvine's lips. Aha, so he's enjoying this. And he blatantly defied that he's gay. All right, maybe he's not gay or bi. He's just not afraid of us men like most people would. Plus, one fool around doesn't make you not straight.

I stopped sucking on his throat. Time to focus on something else. I knocked his hat off, then freed one hand to pull off his ponytail holder. He wasn't even trying to resist now, so there's no point holding on like death. But, I didn't trust him that much yet, so I still kept one hand. Squall was slowly pushing us back toward the wall. His mouth left Irvine's nipple and moved downward to the abs muscle. I, on the other hand, started nibbling on Irvine's ear while my free hand roamed down to the small of his back.

And that's when he started having a spasm.

* * *


	4. Part II: Complications (B)

**

* * *

**

Barbed Wire

Part II: Complications

**Quistis:**

"Hey," I greeted Zell, who was sitting lazily on the chair with his back to the wall. He stood up in surprise as I approached him. Oh, was I being so awful?

I smiled at him. The liquor was making the room a little blurry, so I plopped myself down in front of him. "Do I have something written on my forehead or something?"

"Huh? No." Zell shook his head. "Why aren't you dancing?"

"Do you want me to go back to Irvine?" That was a rhetorical question. The expression on his face told it all. "See? So why did you even bother asking?"

"I don't know. Gee, if you're gonna be here making fun of me, then I don't want you here. Leave." He sat back down and poured himself another glass of Tequila. "Go!"

Jesus. I ignored him and grabbed the liquor bottle. I have never drunk so much in my life, but I didn't care. I got myself another full glass and downed it in one gulp. It tasted wonderful.

When I put the empty glass down, Zell was staring at me. His expression was on the borderline of concern. "Uh, Quistis? How many glasses have you had?"

I shrugged. "Don't know. At least a bottle or two. Who cares?"

"I do."

Interesting. "Oh?"

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah. I mean, we all do. Not to be accusing or something, but you are so totally out of it tonight it's not even funny. It's not just me who think so, ask any of them other guys. Where are they right now, anyways?"

I didn't know. They disappeared. So I shrugged. "I wouldn't be worried about them if I were you. They can take care of themselves."

"Yeah, but you apparently are on the verge of collapsing."

I laughed. How ridiculous. Me? Right.

"Something bothering you, girl?"

No. Nothing was bothering me at all. Besides for the fact that I needed to change my looks and personality in order to appeal to him, I was perfectly fine. So I shook my head and reached for the bottle again. I was so thirsty.

Zell snatched it away from me. Hey! "Zell!"

"What? Girl, you drink any more you're gonna get severe alcohol poisoning. Look, I know this is not you. Not the real you. Why the sudden change?"

My voice turned dark. "This _is_ the real me. You think only Selphie and Rinoa can have a wild side? I'm not just full of serious bookworm crap. I can be fun, too."

"By drinking yourself to death?"

"Good God, Zell, liquor can't kill me at this stage."

"What will?"

"He will," Oops. Hehe, Dincht got some skills after all. How on Earth did he get my slip of tongue! The lights in this room seemed brighter than usual.

"Who? Squall?"

What? "Squall? No, he's got a boyfriend, darling. I don't think I'll go tamper with that stone."

Zell's face was about as serious as he could ever get. "Irvine, then?"

I sighed. Struck core. "He's taken, too. But you know how screwed up a person can be. Pick the battle you can't win and charge with all your might, even if it'll leave a trail of thick, dark, and warm blood. Glorious."

I said all these with a half-smile on my face. For some reason I felt like laughing, even though a knife had split my heart in two. The lights grew even flashier, and the room started to spin. A nap seemed nice right now.

"You . . . " Zell fumbled. "Are you in love with him?"

"Tonight's show is as far as I could hope for." I eluded his question. "To him, I'm just a one-time lust object. Tomorrow it'll be like before, he'll be with her, not me. He's a player, I know. I'm not stupid."

"It . . . it might not be as hopeless as you think."

Odd comment. "Right. You're just trying to cheer me up. Well, accept reality, darling, he's been interested in Selphie since we were kids. I remember everything. So the chance for me is as broad as you take on an Elnoyle single-handed without any GF's."

Zell's eyes narrowed. "Wow, I never knew you're so . . . depressed."

"I've been like this for a while now. It's not a sudden thing."

"You ever talked to anybody about any of these?"

No. Who would listen to me anyways? They would always be expecting me to be perfectly collected, as the Instructor Trepe they knew before. Or the Quistis Trepe that fought Ultimecia and won. Or the cold, calm, and cool Quistis with no emotions but flawless logic to guide someone out of a mystified situation. That was all.

That was all there ever was about me.

I still didn't answer Zell's previous question. He probably already figured it out from my silence. It's not that hard.

"Why do you think that nobody cares about you?" He suddenly asked. I _didn't_ think nobody cared about me. They just didn't care _enough_ about me in _that_ way.

"Feelings have no 'why's. They have 'are's." I answered.

"Does Irvine have any idea at all?"

Oh he must've been kidding. "Of course not. Zell, didn't I repeat frequently about Selphie and his relationship?"

"That thing they have can't possibly be really called a relationship. I mean, I don't know about anybody else, but to me, it looks like Selphie and him are thinking of two different things. She's in her own bubble and he's, well, out of the bubble. I don't know, maybe you should try talk to him or something."

I laid my head on my arms on the table. I was getting sleepy. "Zell, why are you urging me to get with him? I've seen the way you looked at me all night. You're willingly pushing me toward another guy. Why?"

"Well, see," his voice kind of strained. "OK, I admit it. The thing I have for you is probably just lust. I never seen you look this way before and it's like, whoa, hot damn! But, but, you're so miserable. You are so freakin' beyond miserable, actually, and I, or anyone else who knows you, for that matter, hate to see you like this. Really, I'm not joking. Since you helped me with my problem, I'm gonna help you with yours."

His problem? Oh, right, his mom. I didn't feel like speaking any more. Too tiring. The room's getting darker. Odd, it was bright as fire before, now it's like a black hole sucked away all sources of radiance. Voices and music were blending together into a monotonous hum.

I needed some sleep.

"Quistis? Quistis!" Somebody's calling me. But it seemed so far away. Oh, well, let it drift. No need to answer anything.

Too tired. Sleep. And why was the ground spinning under my feet? Or was it the table that's moving? Who cares.

The light's gone out.

* * *

**Irvine:**

I gasped when I felt Seifer's hand slide down my spine. My most sensitive spot was right in the middle of the small of my back, and his fingers were on it. Let me tell ya this, if you think nothing besides touching the main event would set a guy off, you're so wrong. I mean, like, you're so off the map it's hard to even try to come back.

And Squall had to choose that exact moment to slide to my crotch and unzip my pants. I felt all the blood rushed down and I knew Squall could feel the erection. Or see it. Or both. Seifer obviously realized his touch was doing more than he had intended for, so he kept right at it, messaging in a circular motion. I leaned back into Seifer, into his working fingers that sent waves of shock into my head. I felt his erection, too. He was harder than me.

"Fuck," I whispered. They were driving me to the point of ecstasy, and Squall hadn't even touched me yet! But it didn't feel right. Heh, no shit it didn't feel right. I'm not gay. I'm not even bi. This was a pure physical thing and I really didn't want my first time to be a pure physical thing, with two guys, although my body and hormone both told me to.

I forced my mouth to obey my will. "Stop."

Squall stiffened. He raised his head up and looked at me directly in the eye. Seifer was still massaging my back, but it turned softer. And he strayed away from that spot. However, he still didn't let go of my wrists.

"What?" Squall asked.

"I said, stop."

"Whoa," he stood up and backed away a step. "Irvine Kinneas preventing someone to give him a blow job. That is unheard of. Did you drink so much that you're actually sober?"

Man, I'm not a damn whore. OK, maybe I act like it, but that's all act! I rolled my eyes. "Have you ever seen anyone giving me a blow job?"

"No. I don't think you'd let us know about stuff like that. Isn't that kind of private?"

"Fine. Change of phrasing: Have you ever seen me go off somewhere private with less than two people?"

He thought about it for a second. "Yeah. Selphie."

"Selphie doesn't count. Plus, you don't really think she's the kind to give a blow job to anyone, do you?"

Seifer snickered behind me. He let go of my hands and moved a little to the left, away from me. So we're actually _talking_ here now? Look how this turned out. I zipped my pants back up.

Squall glanced at me sideways. "Wait a minute, you two _are_ dating, right?"

Um. "She thinks we are, but no. I don't think that way about her. She's too . . . I don't know, I've known her for too long. She's like, my best friend, and my sister. That's about it."

"Well," he scoffed, "you think it would be a little more convenient to _tell_ somebody that? I'm not talking about just Selphie herself, either."

I kept my voice flat. "You mean Quistis?"

I met his gaze. His expression turned soft. "I think she's in love with you. It's the real kind, too."

We stared at each other for a second or two, then I looked away. I couldn't look at anything else now, except the bare wall. "What do you want me to do about it?"

"_I_ don't want you do anything if you don't want to."

Shut up. Dang, pretend in that stupid not-caring tune if you like, but we all know you care more than you ever realize. Squall is so predictable.

But he got me thinking. Quistis was in love with me? I mean, I know she'd been subtly flirting with me for a while, _very_ subtly, until tonight, which I still did not understand what the hell happened, but hey. I didn't know what to make of her. All right, let's skip tonight's one exception, but on average day she never seemed to talk over the line with me. Ever. I wasn't sure she was even _on_ the line. But something's there. It's invisible, but it's there. And I was so fascinated by it for some reason.

Was that what affection, not just physical or skin-deep ones, I'm talking about real ones, was like? So tangible but so amorphous. It's like, the atmosphere. Or the scent of grass right after rain. Or, I don't know, something.

"He's quiet. That's not good. He's never quiet." Seifer's voice crept into my ears. What did Squall see in him anyways?

I turned my gaze back to Seifer. He had walked to where Squall had stood, and Squall was heading toward the door. "I'm gonna bolt, check on the other two make sure they don't get drunk and wreak havoc." Squall opened the door and disappeared back into the loud music.

I crossed my arms. "You didn't talk much either for the past thirty minutes."

"Oh, my bad." Seifer rolled his eyes. "Look, I have no idea that Squall agreed with me to take you here to talk to you about this. I thought he just wanted to fuck you like I did. So whatever he's accusing you of, I don't know and I frankly, don't care that much."

Yeah, right. "Seifer, you lie as much as you accused me of. I believe you on the fuck part, but don't throw some you-don't-care kind of statements. You know that's not true."

I picked up my vest and put it back on. Seifer shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "You really _are_ a virgin, aren't you?"

"I've been saying that for how long now and you just got it. That's not bad, for you." Now I picked up my ponytail holder and the hat. I deliberately turned my back to him just as I heard his quick footsteps behind me and a hard shove got me into the wall.

"Hey, listen, cowboy, that's the fifth damn time you deliberately shoved your foot up my ass. You wanna know what that feels like? I can do that right now." His hand closed on my neck. I felt a smile surging out of my lips. So I finally ticked him off, eh? Took a while.

"No." I lilted my voice. "Now you know what Squall felt before the Ultimecia thing and how Zell feels right now whenever you pick on him." I removed his hand from my neck slowly and turned around. "Feels very good, doesn't it?"

Seifer's face turned to surprise. He remained shocked for a minute, then backed away slightly. All those smirk and arrogance that he still kept after he got with Squall disappeared out of the window. Good. Somebody needs to tell him that, to his face.

I smirked and slid toward the door. He didn't chase me, but his eyes followed my every move. I twisted the knob, pushed the door open, and dissolved back in the dance room.

I quickly made my way toward our table. When I got there, Zell and Squall were both standing up and ready to leave. Quistis was lying on the table; passed out, probably. I wasn't surprised at all. I had only two glasses of Tequila, and I know Squall didn't have any. She hogged basically the whole thing. Three bottles. I mean, come on.

"What are we going to do now?" Zell asked.

I sighed. Then I leaned over and picked Quistis up, careful not to wake her or let her skirt's slit show too far up. "Well, we can't go back to Garden now unless we sneak in. And I don't think any of us are in the mood or shape to climb over fences. Zell, you think we can crash at your house tonight?"

"Sure," Zell shrugged. At the same time Squall asked, "Where's Seifer?"

"Here," The person asked made his way toward us. "We're going to chicken-wuss's den?"

Zell ignored him this time. Quistis shifted in my arms. She subconsciously put her head closer to my chest. Something was aching and I felt blood rush through my ears. I shook my head, and it went away as quickly as it came.

"Yo, Kinneas, riding a horse somewhere?" Seifer pushed me from behind. "Let's go."

All right, all right. I frowned a little and followed the other two out of the Triangle. I suddenly realized I needed somewhere to sit down and rest, bad.

* * *

**Selphie:**

"Squall? Quistis? Hello!"

I yelled into the Garden's dorms. They should be able to hear me, and it's not even 9 o'clock. They're not in bed around 9, oh no. I gotta let them all meet my friends from Trabia. Oh, yeah, and also let Zell see Jen with the Heroes and then watch how happy he gets. You know, he'll jump up and down and wear that big ole grin of his. Watching him happy makes me happy.

"Where is everybody?" I mumbled to myself. "Irvine? Zell? Anybody here?"

No answer. Huh.

"Selph, where's your boyfriend?" Mai nudged me in the ribs. "I heard so much about him. Now I'm so curious to meet him."

"Oddly, he's out." I searched around the hall once more. "So is every other person I ever told y'all about. Hmm." I shrugged.

"Wow, this place is big," Jen commented. "Much bigger than Trabia." She lifted her suitcase up and strolled toward one of the dorm rooms. "Which ones are ours?"

"Waaayyyy down there." I pointed toward the back. I was going to talk to Squall about using one of his spare quarters to house my friends. But he's out. I guess he won't mind if we take stuff first and tell later. Nah, he won't.

The five of us shuffled along toward the end of the hall. I knew for a fact the last two rooms were empty. Jen and Mai could share one while Matt and Steve take up the other. I told them the plan, and they all agreed. Yep, Miss Planner Tilmitt.

"Spacious!" Mai exclaimed as soon as she stepped in the room. "Heh, I have more room in this double than my single back home. You're rich. Who's your sponsor?"

"Uh, somebody from Esthar." I replied. I wasn't going to tell them the sponsor was the president of Esthar and he's the Headmaster's dad. No way. Then somebody would start complaining about unfairness and it'd end really really ugly. It'd be a mess.

"Whom should I give these to?" Jen threw the bag of Heroes on table. "Who's your doctor?"

"Dr. Kadowaki. It's kinda late right now though. We can give her the stuff in the morning." I wanted to go out and hang with them tonight. I mean, the Heroes won't go anywhere by themselves. "You know, we need to catch up first. What happened this past year? The last time I saw y'all, y'all were still an unknown little band. Now look what happened?"

"We're _still_ an unknown little band." Steve's voice sounded behind me. "Only Trabia knew us. That's about like, what, five hundred people?"

"Well, never mind that." I bounced up. "You're all gonna perform here, and we're gonna throw a big bash, and everyone in Balamb will come and see you. Then they'll tell other people, and soon you're all gonna be famous!"

"Right, and that'll just happen in two weeks, huh?" Jen rolled her eyes. "And Jeep, you and Joce are ready already? You finished unpacking?"

"Unpacking, what are you talking about? Unpacking can be done tomorrow, tonight I want to phoenix out." Steve spun around in a circle just as Matt opened the door.

"Phoenix out?" I raised my eyebrow.

"Fly out and cruise, he meant," Mai translated. "So you just threw your stuff in your room?"

"What else?" Matt shrugged. "Are we going now or what?"

"We're going, we're going, jeez." Jen said impatiently. "You guys are really desperate to find some girls to hit on, right?"

The guys didn't say anything.

"Uh-huh." Jen snickered. "Well then, let's head out."

"I'm hurt. We don't count as good enough dates for you?" Mai made a puppy-face. Steve cracked up while Matt just looked away. Mai slapped Steve on the back of his head as Jen locked the door behind us. The students that were still up gave us some weird looks, but didn't stare long enough to bother anyone.

"Hey, you got a training center here?" Mai suddenly perked up. "Balamb continent seemed too mild to get anything horrible."

"Jamaica! That's nice." It's Steve's turn to slap her on the back of the head. "Good way to make the SeeDs here feel superior."

"What?" She exclaimed. "What are you talking about?"

"You're saying there's no hard monsters here. So the SeeDs who trained here all face easy battles. And therefore not as skilled as us because we have to fight harder monsters." Steve explained.

"No way in the wild world did I say that!" Mai nearly shrieked. "I was just –"

"OK! You two, catfight should not start on the first night." Jen shut both of them up. "Anyways, Jamaica, what were you saying to Selphie?"

By that time we all reached the gate and were headed toward the car. I didn't bother to park the car back in the parking lot because we're gonna head back out. Matt opened the door and held it open for us girls to get in first. I guess he wanted to drive this time. Cool. He's a good driver so I wasn't worried.

"I was wondering if there's any monster that's strong enough here for me to try out my newest concoction." Mai unwrapped another bubble gum piece and plopped it in her mouth.

"Which is?" I asked. Curious.

"I don't know the name. It's like this, right. You mix Meltdown and Pain . . ."

"Whoa, that's impossible right there." Steve cut in. "Since when could you do that? They'll just explode or cancel each other out or something."

"Have you tried?" Mai's voice took a note of disdain.

"Yeah."

"What happened?"

"They exploded."

"Exactly." She chirped. "But if you throw them out at your opponent, it'll explode on them and the damage is tremendous. I tried it on a Blue Dragon once. That thing went down like a stone. All I needed was a couple of Limit Break hits and it's dead. So quick. I done it by accident though because I was panicking, but anyways, there ya go. And if you like, throw in some Firaga or Flare or if you dare, Ultima, then that's a mighty spell."

"Don't throw Ultima with that." Matt said from his driver's seat. "You'll create such an aftershock that you'll hurt yourself."

"What can you do if you _do_ hurt yourself or someone else accidentally?" Jen questioned. She was more interested in Life/Death and Time/Support magic more than the Elemental/Static ones that Mai loves. That's the reason Jen collect Heroes. If you want someone to be your backup restoration master in battle, you got yourself a girl. Matt's more into physical weaponry and Steve tried everything to perfect his Mug/Rare Item skills. So if you put the four of them together in one big battle, whoo, monsters, watch out. They're literally undefeatable.

And me? My place is the Limit Break area. My Limit Break is still the best among them, no matter what. That's why they always ask me to come along with them to go training back in Trabia. It was so fun.

Plus, because I was at Balamb Garden, I get to control the best GF's. That's a big plus.

"If that happens," Mai continued, "you better have some Elixir or Hero ready. I don't know because I never hurt a person with this before. It's gonna be pretty nasty, though."

"Is this it?" Matt turned around and asked me. He had driven to the back of Balamb, near the docks. Good directions, man.

"Yeah, keep going a little further . . . turn left here . . . uh-huh, see that big huge orange sign on the roof? Yep, that's it." I pointed to a yellow-walled building. Matt spun the car into a complete stop and turned off the engine.

"All right!" Steve popped open the door. "Let's go p-a-a-a-r-r-r-t-t-t-t-y!"

* * *

**Quistis:**

I was falling. Down and down in a spiral mist. I knew the bottom was near, yet it took me an eternity to reach it. After an excruciatingly long wait, I saw the mist darken and felt something solid on my back. No pain followed, but a hollow sensation spreaded from my spine to everywhere else on my body.

Then all was black.

My eyes snapped open. Soft covers draped across my chest. A feathery pillow neatly folded under my head. I was staring at a ceiling slightly bathed in the morning light. The sun had just risen and was seeping through a window at the other end of the room. Whose room is this?

I started to get up on my arms, but a sudden rush of pain slammed into my temples. I groaned quietly and furrowed my brows. Nausea immediately followed. I smelled Margarita deep in my throat. Margarita?

Oh.

Memories came back, too. Bits and pieces, of course, but they're there, nonetheless. My my, what did I do last night? I could not believe that was actually me dancing in the shadows, with . . ..

Oh my goodness. He must've thought I was a slut. I probably did deserve that title judging by the way I was acting. Terrible. Terrible!

Another wave of pain jolted me straight out of bed. Whose bed is this again? It's not the Garden dorms. The last thing I remembered was talking to Zell about something, then I fell asleep. And now I was here.

I shook my head violently, as if that would make the pain disappear. It did wake my tired eyes more. I pushed the soft cover off of me and swung my leg over the edge of the bed. That's when I noticed I wasn't alone in the room.

Two figures lay by my feet. One had blond hair and the other one was too dark for the dim light to reflect off. I then saw that my high-heels were put beside the bedstand and all my jewelry sparkled on the drawers. I still had my dress on. A slightly uncomfortable garment to be sleeping in, though.

I slid off the bed quietly. I saw the punching bag and the gun display on the wall. Oh! This was Zell's house.

"Awake already?"

I jumped at the source of the whisper. Seifer half sat up on his arms, careful not to disturb Squall. His eyes were focused on me.

"Yes." I said quietly. "What time is it?"

"About 5:30. Got a headache?"

I smiled sadly. "Yes, that too. Um, I'm going to take a shower. Where is that?"

He shrugged. "This isn't my house, go ask chicken-wuss." He then felt me stiffen and snickered. "Dear instructor, you're not expecting _me_ to ask him that, right?"

"I, well," I gestured at my clothing. The dress was chosen for one night only. I had planned to reverse back to what everyone was used to – the emotionless and logical instructor – after the night. When I present myself today, it would be formal and not, well, slutty.

Seifer made no movement to get up off the floor. Odd. I then noticed a heap of clothing on the other side of the room. I recognized his trenchcoat and Squall's leather jacket. And their pants.

Oh. Okay.

Seifer shifted under his cover. "You gonna stand there until the sun comes out?"

"The sun's already out," I replied. I walked past him and got out of the room. There was a tiny door at the end of the hallway. I guess that's the bathroom. Hopefully Zell had robes stashed in there.

The bathroom was actually pretty spacious. I opened the wall cabinet and was delighted to see bathrobes folded on the shelves. Who knew Zell was such a tidy person.

I quickly showered. The water felt good on my skin. And whatever soap Zell used smelled very refreshing. I dried my hair roughly with a towel and put on a robe. That's when I glanced up and saw myself in the mirror.

I looked . . . strange. Not in a bad way, but still strange nonetheless. Then it dawned to me that for the first time in weeks I had slept for more than an hour in the night.

Makes me wonder what I looked like everyday for the past however many weeks. Nobody even cared enough to ask me why did I look like crap. Nobody even cared enough to _tell_ me I looked like crap.

No point getting depressed now. I smoothed my hair and stepped out of the bathroom. I headed downstairs. The sun was out completely.

Zell was on the sofa. He sat up groggily when my footsteps woke him. He yawned. "Mornin'."

"Morning." I replied. "Slept well?"

"Uh-uh. I prefer my bed, or even my room. But Squall won't let me go near you since you're kinda out." Zell grumbled. He didn't realize what he had said to me until two seconds later. Then he covered his mouth and his eyes widened.

"Good going, Dincht. Say whatever that's on your mind." Seifer's voice sounded behind me. "Anything else you want to add?"

"Shut up!" Zell put his hands on his hip.

Squall appeared behind Seifer. He was wearing everything he wore last night except for the leather jacket and his chain belts. All Seifer had on were his pants. They certainly don't plan to wear these back to the Garden, right?

"Just from your complaint it's right to not put you in the same room with Quistis." Squall commented.

"Oh, so it's right to put you two in there?" Zell got defensive. "And you two didn't do anything inappropriate, right."

Someone chuckled. We all looked toward that direction and saw Irvine strolled in from the dining room. He must've spent the night on the rug.

"What's so funny, Kinneas?" Seifer crossed his arms. Irvine smirked at him but didn't say anything. Instead, he turned to me. "Did you sleep well?" he asked.

"Yes, actually." I answered. "I guess my insomnia is cured."

"Oh, really?" He raised an eyebrow. "Well, that's great for you. I, on the other hand, wish I could say the same. So, Seifer, tell me, was it _that_ good?"

I stifled a laugh. Squall's face turned bright red and he looked away to the wall. Seifer just stared at Irvine in the usual "I'm so gonna kick your ass" way. And Zell stepped back slightly in shock. The dining room was directly below Zell's bedroom. I must've been really out last night because I heard absolutely nothing.

The source of attention simply grinned.

"Fuck you," Seifer finally said.

"You tried but failed, remember?" Irvine's voice was still flat and steady.

"Whoa. Let's forget about this and figure out how to sneak back in Garden, shall we?" Squall stepped in between Seifer and Irvine to keep either side from swing a fist. What was Irvine talking about? I didn't remember anything like that.

I didn't even remember what I said to Zell. I remembered what I _did_ last night, but not what was said to me or what I had said. Maybe I should ask Squall later about some specifics I must've accidentally either dished or received. But Squall was right. We needed to figure out how to get back to Garden and not be so obvious.

I myself was actually okay. My outfit was left in the car. Where did I park the car? Probably near the docks. Yes. It was next to the curb. I could simply drive back and walk through the front door.

"Sneak back? Man, I can just walk in, baby. I got my stuff here." Zell chimed. "It's y'all that need to sneak back."

"Sneak back, my ass, chicken-wuss." Seifer said. "I look the same as I always do."

"STOP CALLING ME THAT! YOU'RE IN MY HOUSE, FIRST OF ALL." Zell yelled. "AND SECOND OF ALL –"

"Zell! Calm down!" Squall ordered. He then sighed. " Go upstairs and change, Zell. We have to go our separate ways or people'll get suspicious. Irvine, did you sneak out?" Irvine nodded. "Quistis?" He looked at me. I shook my head and told him my car's whereabouts. He nodded and continued. "Well, Quistis, you and Seifer drive back. Kinneas can walk with me, along with Zell, except when we get there Zell could walk through the front door and we'll take the back. This way we can split up the time."

And from the way he assigned the parties, time wasn't the only thing he wanted to split up.

"Good plan." I said to Squall. "I'm going to go upstairs and get my things." Irvine's eyes were searching to meet mine, but I avoided it and spun around. There would and could be nothing between us. I accept that fact a long time ago. No need to hope anymore.

So I went back upstairs and stuffed all my jewelry in my purse. I didn't notice anyone was behind me until he tapped me on the shoulder, which made me jump visibly off the ground.

"Seifer! Goodness gracious you scared me to death!" I gasped. "Don't do that."

"I need your keys."

"What?"

"I need your car keys."

I narrowed my eyes. "Why?"

He rolled his. "You're not planning to wear that bathrobe and walk down the street to your car, are you? I'm gonna drive it here and pick you up."

I smiled. "Squall told you to do that?" I unzipped a pocket of my purse and handed the keys to him.

"No. Kinneas did."

My hand froze. Seifer had to grip and yank the keys out of my fingers. He then smirked. "I'm just playing. It was Squall, the all-powerful commander sending out his concerns."

I relaxed a little. "Well, let's go then. We need to be back there before everyone noticed the doctor's assistant's missing."

We walked back down. Seifer put his trenchcoat back on to cover up his naked chest. Zell was nowhere in sight, probably changing in the bathroom. Squall was pacing and Irvine sat on the sofa.

"Well, I'll be right back." Seifer said to me. He turned around, open the door, and left.

* * *

**Zell:**

I sighed a little. The way from Balamb to the Garden was not long, and heck, I've been so many times up and down this road that I can trace every step blindfolded. The sun's out and it's warm. Good thing that the morning monsters're not out yet and the night monsters just retreated, so this road was relatively peaceful. Selphie's friends should be here now, right? That means Ma's definitely gonna be all right. I smiled to myself and started to whistle.

I glanced at my two companions. Squall was scowling, as usual. And Irvine was just, weird. Yeah, weird. He was unusually quiet right now, way different from his previous attitude this morning. They're both lost in their own thoughts. Well, I sure wasn't gonna go pry into either one of those heads. Dangerous grounds to be testing in.

Seifer and Quistis should be there by now. Man, I wonder how nice their trip was. They should be talking at least, right? Instead of moping around here, like these two silent rocks. I kicked a stone off the road and watched it roll into the bushes.

Squall suddenly stopped. He scoffed in frustration. "Irvine Kinneas!" he yelled.

Irvine stopped. But his back was to both of us. "What?" He asked in his even tone.

"What are you going to do?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You know too damn well what I'm talking about." Whoa. Squall and profanity usually don't come together unless he's really pissed beyond belief. I thought I was the only one that let Irvine's wanton ways to bother me, everyone else just don't care enough to care. Guess not.

Irvine didn't turn around. He didn't answer, either.

"Look at me." Squall ordered quietly. Somehow that's scarier than him yelling.

Irvine slowly turned around. His hat was pulled low so we couldn't see his eyes. "Since when did you care about Quistis so much?"

"Do you love Selphie?" Squall asked. "And I mean exactly that with that question."

Irvine just stared at him. After a few seconds, he replied. "Do you love Rinoa?"

Dead silence. On both sides now. I looked back and forth between them. I couldn't read either of their expressions. Did I not say their heads are dangerous grounds to be picking on? I rather pick Seifer's head and get a bloody nose from that.

"Thought so." The ghost of a smile flickered on Irvine's lips.

"I did love her."

"You did or you thought you did?"

"Moving on from girl to girl and suddenly discovering your sexual preference are two different things."

"Huh. Are they?"

"Hey!" I spoke up. They both saw me as if for the first time since we stepped out of the house. "You two, stop your word-play games. Aren't y'all tired of circling around and never get to a point? Irvine, if you don't know what the heck's going on in your own heart, just say it. I mean, nobody's gonna judge you because you don't know. And Squall, if he doesn't know for like, a long time, you ain't gonna suddenly make him get an epiphany now in the middle of the road. Let's get back to Garden first. Plus, I'm hungry!"

They continued to stare at me. _What_?

"I can't believe it. Zell Dincht is actually making sense?" Irvine grinned. Shut up.

I turned back to the road, ignoring them now. From their footsteps I knew they're following me. Good. I returned to my whistling and continued until I saw the Garden's front door.

"_Where were you!"_

I put my hands up to my ears in protest. My gosh, that girl can be _so_ loud. "Geez, Selphie, I went home to fix a few things. You don't need to kill my eardrums because I made a side trip to Balamb."

Selphie groaned. "I was looking for all five of y'all yesterday. Did you all sleep early or left or what? I couldn't find anybody. And I couldn't introduce you to my friends!"

"Where are they now?" I asked her. All I saw was her standing there waving her arms up and down wailing.

"Well, I need to find all of you first. I don't want to introduce the same people five times!" Selphie looked around. "Aha, there's Quistis!"

I turned around and saw Quistis walking along with Seifer. They both changed: Quistis in her SeeD uniform and Seifer in a white shirt and laced up pants. He looked kinda odd, I mean, you ever seen Seifer in something less than military arrogance attires? No. But, anyways, they made their way over.

Selphie gave Seifer a weird look. See, I wasn't the only one! She shrugged, and her smile was up again. "Now where's Squall? And Irvine? They need to be here, too! It's a group thing!"

"Group thing?" Seifer cocked his head. "Who cares about them anyways?"

"I do. So shut up and we're gonna wait for them, okay?" Selphie said defiantly. "Oh, there they are! HEY!"

Loud, loud, loud, loud, loud! She jumped up and dashed to Squall, who managed to put on a straight face despite her overwhelming enthusiasm. She told him something; I couldn't hear it, but Squall's eyes got bigger. Then she turned toward another direction and waved.

"What is she doing?" Quistis asked me. Beats me. I looked at Selphie's waving direction and noticed four people. Her friends from Trabia, probably. The quartet walked toward us casually, well, except for the redheaded girl in front. She just ran.

"Aha, so you must be Squall!" The girl squealed. She's as loud as Selphie, maybe more. Bubbly, too. Ha, I like her already.

"Guys," Selphie spoke up, "Meet The Junk Yard."

Junk what?

"They're a band."

Oh.

"I'm Jamaica." The redhead continued. "And that's Jen, Jocifer, and Jeep."

"All J's?" Irvine raised an eyebrow.

"No, that's not their name. That's their stage name!" Selphie's voice took on a note of whine.

"Yes, it is our name." The guy named Jeep said back. "Ignore what she call us. She's dumb."

"Am not!"

"Are too."

"Am not!"

"Okay, okay." Squall cut in. "I apologize for last night's inconvenience. I had some other business to take care of. Well, as Headmaster of Balamb Garden, I welcome you to our base and home."

* * *

**Squall:**

"Perhaps we should find a more convenient place to talk and introduce ourselves." Quistis crossed her arms. "It might take a while and we're in the hallway right now."

Good point. "How about the Quad?" I suggested. The Quad had just been renovated a few weeks back, under Selphie's request. Ah, maybe the Junk Yard or whatever she had called her friends were the sole reason for that. She wanted them to perform here.

So she had planned this way before the crisis with Mrs. Dincht. That means the Heroes were just . . .

I stopped myself before my head ventured any further. It couldn't have gone somewhere nice. I looked around and everyone seemed to agree with my suggestion. Whether because it's sensible or because I'm headmaster, I didn't know. I extended my hand, "After you." The guests should know their way around here. From what I understood, Selphie pretty much showed them everything.

I walked second to last, with only Seifer trailing behind me. I knew why he was there too, but I deliberately ignored him and concentrated in front of me. To be more accurate, on the four Trabia arrivals. They sure did stand out.

The girl that ran straight toward me was named Jamaica. She had fiery red hair, the true color. You could tell she dyed it, but it was an amazingly natural dye job. Her hair was shoulder-length with the bouncy ringlets protruding out. Her eyes were narrow and cat-green. She had on a loose men's shirt with ruffles at the sleeves, loose long pants and relatively flat heels to match. I couldn't describe the color of her clothing, for there were too many. It was like a painter had carelessly splashed the fabric with any color he could find. However, it looked very nice. A red choker finished the outfit.

The other girl had long dirty blonde hair pulled into a ponytail behind her back. She had large brown eyes with thick long lashes. A bright orange metallic headband rested on her head, contrasting greatly with her huge green earrings. She's dressed, if you could even call it that, in a light lavender leather bratop and a black leather skirt. The skirt was not short, but it's made with two pieces of fabric connected with a crisscrossing pattern of black strings. In other words, you could see all of her legs from the sides, and she was not wearing underwear. A pair of thigh-high boots with the color of shiny magenta clung to her feet. She had chains strung from her earshell to earlobe, several earrings, and a nose ring.

The guy named Jeep had his thick black hair slicked back. He's in a fitting T-shirt with some intricate design that I didn't recognize all over. His green pants were tight, but not binding enough to restrain movement or display anything inappropriate. He was also wearing legwarmer, obviously for fashion because the Garden was in the heat of summer. His shoes were made of some synthetic material unknown to me. They looked soft, but also sturdy. I wouldn't be surprised if those shoes had steel plates mounted under them, like tap shoes. In fact, judging by his movement and style, Jeep looked like a professional dancer.

Jocifer was the tallest one among them. He had his electric blue hair spiked and the tips were dipped in a frosty green. He was wearing a long-sleeve cinnamon shirt with iridescent flames traveling up his arms. His pants were gray, and they were very big. It looked wide enough to put two people in. A pair of combat boots on his feet and a small dagger tucked into his pants leg gave the only sign among the four that they're associated with SeeD. He had an earring in his left ear and a bunch of necklaces. Fingerless gloves draped his hands.

I raised my eyebrow slightly. Traces of elite soldiers on the Junk Yard were minimal. I could not even picture Selphie among them, yet there she was, laughing and having the best time in her life. She looked closer to them than to any of us, even Irvine.

"Talking to yourself again, commander?"

Seifer's voice jerked me out of it. I gave him a look and ignored his remark. So we're back at the pretense once more. Whatever happened last night among all five of us seemed to disappear. We got sucked right into the previous routine.

Except for one person. Irvine Kinneas. He barely said two words ever since we got back. The usual grin on his face was gone, and that is saying something. I reflected on my talk with him this morning. Maybe I had been a little bit harsh. I just didn't want Quistis to get hurt. She is like my sister, and I care tremendously about her.

"So how long have y'all known Selphie?" Zell asked as the ten of us gathered on the Quad floor. Before anybody could answer, though, I took the words in my hand.

"Wait a second, Zell, let us introduce ourselves first –"

"Oh, no need no need," Jamaica popped some gum in her mouth. "We know all about you. All of you, in the most detail possible because S-Bomb here e-mailed us about everything."

"I so did not!" Selphie protested.

"S-Bomb?" Seifer raised his eyebrow. "Quite appropriate."

"Hey. You can't make fun of her, only we can." Jeep hopped off his seat. He was sitting on the stage.

"Says who?" Zell stood up too. But Quistis hushed him for the sake of, well, all of us. No beginning could be good with an argument.

"Guys," Jen waved her hand. "Knock off these macho crap. I didn't come here just to watch people fight. We're all Selphie's friends. Period."

"And hopefully we'll become friends here," Jocifer added. But there was something else in his words. I stared at him, and he didn't notice me at all. He was too busy staring at Irvine. I raised an eyebrow.

"Who're you, though?" Jamaica pointed to Seifer. "Selph never mentioned you."

Jen groaned, obvious annoyed at Jamaica's choice of words. I stifled a laughter. Seifer smirked. "Me? Oh, I'm Squall's – oof!"

I knocked my elbow into his stomach. His choice to sit behind me. "– ultimate rival." He changed his words. "But it's all past now. She didn't mention me because, I assume, she doesn't like me much."

"Nobody likes you much," Zell grumbled. "Except maybe – Ow!"

This time it was Irvine who slapped Zell on the head. Quistis gave him a look. Selphie blinked. "What? What's going on? Somebody's not telling me something about someone. I want to know!"

Oh no you don't. "It's nothing." I spoke up. "I'll tell you later. When do you want your concert to be held, Selphie?"

"Oh, right! Yeah! Guys, the concert is gonna be here!" Selphie jumped up.

"Yeah, we got that four months ago," said Jeep.

"No, idiot. Here, as in right here, in the Quad." She sighed exasperatedly. "Y'all're gonna perform like, tonight."

"TONIGHT!" All nine of us exclaimed at the same time. Selphie didn't even flinch. She calmly (relatively) repeated herself. "What's wrong?"

"Yo outta yo mind, that's what's wrong." Zell snickered. "Girl, there's no frickin' way we can set up the Quad for to_night_."

"But it's perfect! Sure we can. It doesn't have to be all fancy. I can string up the lights myself. Then all we need is some decorations, which is all easy, and wiring and sound is already set up. Right, Squall?"

I put my hand between my eyes. She really thought this over, probably weeks ago. "Yeah, there's no problem with sound or anything. But Selphie, your friends just got here. Oh, by the way, where are the Heroes?"

"In my room, safe and sound." Jen replied. "Look, Selph, us four are ready to go anytime. We may need a few hours to practice, but it's good on our side. Your side is what I'm worried about."

"That's why we need to get to work now!" Selphie turned into her "planner" mode. "So who's gonna help me string and adjust the lights?"

Her eyes naturally wandered to the tallest men in the room, which were Seifer and Irvine. They both shrugged, accepting the offer. Then she assigned the rest of us jobs. Huh, I always thought Selphie had potential as a leader. She showed it last time while we're at FH. But this time she outdid herself.

"So what are _we_ doing?" Jeep asked. "I don't want to, and don't need to, practice all day."

"What do you want to do?" I asked. They were free to do whatever they want.

"See the area and maybe fight some monsters." Jamaica's eyes glinted. "But, we need a guide. I mean, Balamb is not that hard to navigate and all, still."

"Heh heh, right, Jamaica. _That's_ why you want a guide." Jeep chuckled. "So who do you want?"

"Shut up." She rolled her eyes. "Him." She pointed to Seifer.

"Uh, no, he's my light-stringer." Selphie tapped her on the shoulder.

"Oh, whatever! You got your boyfriend. I can borrow your not-so-close friend, here, can't I?"

"Come with us, please," Jen said to Seifer. "The only reason she want you to come is because she doesn't dare ask anyone else to come, for obvious reasons."

"That is so not true! I –"

"I'll come. Okay. Case settled." Seifer put up his hand in protest. There was laughter dancing in his eyes.

"Um, I'm gonna take the Heroes to Ma first." Zell spoke up. "Can you show me to your room?"

"Sure," Jen replied. "I was about to leave anyways. Guys?" The four of them turned around and headed to the dorms. Seifer gave me a quick kiss on my temple before following them. Selphie was busy talking to Quistis about decorations that she missed it.

I wondered when I should tell her.

She finished with her instructions and turned to me with another one of her dazzling smiles. "Well, people, let's get to work!"

* * *


	5. Part III: Explosives (A)

**

* * *

**

Barbed Wire

Part III: Explosives

**Rinoa:**

I shoved my few belongings into the duffel bag. It was not heavy at all; I could easily carry it with one arm. Maybe I should bring a knife or something, just in case. Yeah.

I turned back to my dresser and fumbled out a small pocketknife. It's not much, but it'd have to do. I shoved it inside my boots. Then I turned around and looked at myself in the mirror. My hair was tied into a ponytail and tucked away in a chignon. My bangs were pinned behind my ears. I took off all my jewelry, except for the ring that Squall gave me, the one with Griever on it. I liked it a lot.

I took a deep breath. Well, here goes nothing. I could not stand staying in this house one more minute. I needed to leave. So I turned around one last time checking everything. Then I grabbed the ticket that was lying on my bed - Watts' and Zone's work - and opened the window. I took the rope that was lying under the chair and tied it to my bedpost. The other end I threw out the window.

I had planned this escape from those two people for a long time. Well, okay, no, I planned it since last night. After whatever that stupid cowboy and the rest of them said to me, I had to go. I mean, what else could I do but leave?

I readjusted my clothes and belongings, took one final surveillance, and carefully grabbed onto the rope. I climbed over the window's ledge and slipped down. That man's mansion was quite tall, but I had some training in me so it wasn't too bad. I reached the lamppost I had my eyes on in no time.

Oop, thud. Down to the ground like a pro. I looked up at the window stories above me, phew, mission accomplished. That wasn't hard at all.

Ouch, well, rope burns were there. Minor damage, no biggie. I then took my blaster edge out, aimed high and shot at the windowpane.

A tiny snap was heard. The rope suddenly lost all of its rigidity and fell straight down on my head. Yeek! I hopped back. I was proud of my aim but I forgot about the falling part.

I was standing on the lawn not two feet away from the wall of the house. Get out of here, you doofus! I gathered the rope up and stuffed it behind the lamppost. It'd take them a while to find the thing. Then I spun on my tiptoes and headed quickly toward the train station. Timber, here I come.

_Wheee!_ The train whistled. I jumped up from my sleep, nearly knocking over my bag. The train was slowing down to a stop. I was at Timber.

I could see Ryan real soon. Just thinking about it brought a smile to my lips.

He was staying with the Forest Owl's leader. Squall told him to stay away from Garden for a while. Lay low, that way that man and that woman can't find him even if they manage to find out about us. Nobody knew this, until my call to Balamb. There's no way I could reach Ryan to tell him I was coming. Like I said, I didn't decide to run away until Zell's casual suggestion. Well, I'll show them they can't just do whatever they want with me. I'm almost twenty years old. Enough to make my own decisions, thank you.

I dragged my bag off the train and stepped onto the familiar platform. I hadn't been here for a while, and some sort of nostalgia sank in. Darn, I miss Watts and Zone. They split after somehow got me my ticket. I think they're aboard the White SeeD ship.

I walked out to the street and headed toward Timber Maniacs. Squinting into the afternoon sun, I suddenly was aware of how tired I was. The train ride had lasted around ten hours; from DC to here was not a short trip. Although I slept most of the way, still, you get the lag.

There's the door. I knocked softly. Three times, pause, two more times, as usual. After a few moments, the door swung open and there stood Alice.

"Rinoa!" She exclaimed. "Hey, Francisca, look who's here!" She called into the room.

Francisca? Mrs. DiMarco? What is she doing here? Where's the leader of Forest Fox?

"Come in, come in," Alice grinned. Mrs. DiMarco emerged from the backroom. She exclaimed and gave me a fierce hug. I hugged back, smiling to myself.

"Mrs. DiMarco, how are you? Where's . . . "

"Oh, please, what did I tell you about calling me Mrs. DiMarco?" She cut in pleasantly. "It's Francisca, even Alice calls me that! And for Roxanne, she's gone to Dollet for some business. So I'm filling in for her household this week."

"Oh." I nodded. "Um, where's Ryan?"

Alice giggled. Her short black hair bounced around as she shook her head. "That's why you're here?"

I rolled my eyes. Immature kid. It's nothing to laugh about. "Yeah."

"Ah," Francisca waved her hand. "You just missed him. He headed to Balamb Garden yesterday."

What? "Garden? But . . . why?"

"I don't exactly know. Said something about a horrible feeling in his gut, and he had to go back to check on you. You two must've missed each other on the way. Luck's funny, sometimes, huh?" Francisca gestured for me to sit down. "Alice, go get some tea."

"He just had this feeling and left?" I specifically told him not to. So did Squall.

"No, darling, he said he tried to reach you a couple of times and you won't answer."

I was at Deling when he tried. "I wasn't at Balamb. I was in Galbadia."

"You were?" Alice returned with my tea. I thanked her as I received the cup. "For what?"

"Them." They knew what I mean.

"Ah. Trouble again?" Francisca smiled. She had _no_ idea.

Just then, the videophone ran in the back of the house. Alice jumped up from the couch. The atmosphere suddenly tensed. There was only one videophone in Mrs. Pratt's home, and it's for _emergencies_ only. Back when Timber was still under Galbadian control and the soldiers were coming to burn the city, some of our underground people warned us ahead of time through that phone. _That_ kind of emergencies.

"Hello, mom?" We all quickly piled in front of the screen as Alice answered it. "What's wrong?"

"Alice, oh, Rinoa, I thought you'd be here." Mrs. Pratt's face showed up.

"Huh?" I was confused.

She sighed. "Rinoa, your father is on the verge of sending the entire Galbadian Army after you."

"WHAT! He's actually SENDING them?" She's joking. She must've been. That man doesn't care about me enough to send the army after me!

"Well, not exactly after _you_. After Balamb Garden."

"Wait, so you didn't just decided to drop by but you, like, ran away from them?" Alice looked at me. I nodded.

"So your father thinks you're at Balamb, not here." Francisca said. "Is that intentional?"

I nodded again. "Yes. He still thinks I'm with Squall and Garden is my shelter. Mrs. Pratt, where did you hear this?"

"I knew from a few trusted friends in Deling." The Forest Fox leader replied. "The news has not even travel outside the capital, so no one here knows. But the information is accurate, I'm sure. We have to warn Balamb. It's supposed to be a surprise attack and I don't think that Squall boy could handle it."

"Let's call him, then," Alice suggested.

"No!" I stopped her. "I'm going to Balamb Garden. That way all of you won't be in trouble because of me. And if I ever need shelter here again, I can be sure that no one would suspect this place. When's the next train there?"

I should warn Squall in person. Plus, Ryan's there.

"There's one to Balamb around 6:00." Francisca said to me. Alice turned around and kept on talking to her mother. "Eat dinner here, darling, you look beat. There's not much you can do right now anyways. "

"All right," I smoothed a strand of stray hair back. I could use a few minutes of rest right then. "Thank you, Francisca."

* * *

**Seifer:**

"So, where do you want to go?" I crossed my arms in front of my chest. These Junk Yard people, not trying to be rude to Selphie or anything, but I had this nagging feeling about them. Especially that Jocifer guy. He just, I don't know, he didn't talk. It's not like the Squall kind of not talking, no. It's the . . . well . . . nasty kind. Smart and furtive kind, like a spy or something.

"Aren't you supposed to be taking _us_ around?" The redhead sighed. "I mean, you _are_ our guide."

"No, actually, you _picked_ me to be your guide. I didn't say shit about taking you around in Balamb." I didn't.

"Man, you live here. What's cool about this place?" The guy named Jeep paced around the steps we were sitting on. The hooker-looking girl looked bored out of her mind. Jocifer just stared at me. I swear, that guy's been eyeing me up and down the entire walk here. Maybe I should say something to him – with Hyperion.

"You picked the wrong guy to be your guide. You should've asked Zell." I said. "He lived here all his life. I haven't."

"Who's Zell?" The redhead opened another pack of gum. How much did she bring?

The hooker rolled her eyes. "Jamaica, you idiot. The punk guy with the tattoo on his face, duh!"

"Oh! He's cute, but isn't he like, going out with some gal in the library?" All right, Selphie sure did e-mail them about everything. Jamaica, huh, what kind of name is that anyway? I think it's pretty fucked up that they all have J-names. Even if it's stage names. I can think of much better ones.

"No, they broke up like ages ago. Her fault, too," Jeep replied. "Why don't you go chattin' him up. It'll be Mesmerize."

"What?"

Jen gave me a look. "It'll be okay, that's what he meant."

"How the hell you get 'okay' from 'Mesmerize.' By the way, that's not even an adjective, and nowhere near an adjective." I didn't understand them. No, really.

"I'm boreeeeeddddddd!" The redhead said in a singing-voice. "This feels like an old soap opera. I'm pining for a jerk. Jen's pining for a certain tall, dark, and handsome. Joce's pining for a certain red-brown hair short kid who's obviously taken. Jeep's pining for –"

"HEY, SHUT UP!" The other three yelled simultaneously. I laughed. That redhead could dish some serious dirt. I needed to chat with her some time. Nice blackmail materials.

"Hey, uh . . ." Jen started.

"Seifer," I answered.

"Yeah, sorry, Seifer, do you know any tattoo parlors or piercing shops? I'm thinking of getting some chains, maybe another tattoo."

That I actually know. "Now you're talking. Yeah, there's one a few blocks from here. Come on, I'll take ya."

"Haven't you had enough piercings done on your body already?" Jocifer scoffed.

"Lighten up, Joce. I just want to look and see what they have there." Jen waved her hand as they followed toward the shop. "Jee? Jamie? You up for anything?"

The redhead looked thoughtful while the Jeep guy shuttered. "Forbidden, no! Piercing on a guy looks gay."

I cocked my head. "Oh, does it?"

"Yeah!" He said as if it's the most natural thing in the world. "Earrings, well, okay, I'll let that pass. But anywhere else it's just . . . so homo."

"Sexist and stereotypical comment. Ignore him, he's been scarred." The redhead jumped in. "I might get a tiny tattoo on my ankle. Where's the shop?"

"I am not scarred!"

"Yeah, you are." Jen snickered. "Is this shop it?"

We stopped a few paces away from the shop I knew – The Crowned Child. It's a very decent place. I got my choker here, and chicken-wuss's tattoo belongs here as well. Perhaps I should do some browsing for myself.

"I'm staying out, okay?" Jeep stopped right by the doorway. "You guys go."

"Aw, come on, Jee, it's just a shop!" The redhead said.

"Sure, uh-huh. No."

Jen rolled her eyes, then went inside, dragging the redhead with her. The two guys strolled around the door. Hmm, I think I'll go after the girls.

"Hey, Almasy,"

I froze. It's Jocifer. How the hell did he know my last name? I didn't remember any of us Garden people saying anything involving last names. I turned around and frowned at him.

He jerked his head toward a direction, obviously wanted to stay away from Jeep to talk to me about some matter privately. What the fuck? Oh, well, I shrugged and followed him to a corner. Just what could he do to me?

"What?" I crossed my arms again.

He gave me a downward glance. "I'm concerned about Selphie."

I snickered. Selphie? He dragged me here to talk about _Selphie_? This is hilarious. "And why should I care?"

"Is Kinneas swindling her?"

My eyes got wide. He sure didn't waste breath on small talk. "Uh, what?"

"I know his rep. Is he seeing somebody else behind her back?"

I tilted my head. "Shouldn't you be asking him?"

Jocifer scoffed. "Listen, Almasy, tell me the truth. Let me make it a little clearer. Did Kinneas and that instructor, Trepe, go on a date last night?"

Whoa. First of all, you don't threaten me. Second of all, what the fuck are you talking ab . . .

The Triangle. Shit! Wait, when did the four of them arrive in Balamb? But they wouldn't recognize us even if they saw us the previous day. Maybe he's bluffing. Damn, dangerously close to the truth bluffing. This guy's good. I mean, Irvine and Quistis did not exactly go on a date, but we didn't tell Selphie about the meeting for Rinoa and all her shit. And at the Triangle . . .

I managed to put on a calm expression and replied. "No. You're crazy."

He slanted his eyes. "I believe that everyone possess a special skill. Mine happened to be that I never forget a face or a name once I had seen it. I saw them two holding hands and walking toward a club when I got here yesterday. Don't care how much he flirts, but he shouldn't be seeing anybody else while he's supposedly anchored. Oh, by the way, I know about you and your chocolate-haired whore, too. I saw you. So I'm giving you one more chance. Answer me."

I was dumbstruck. My mouth was open, my ears were ringing, and he just looked at me and waited for me to find my voice. I knew there's a reason why I didn't trust him. And how dare he called my lover a whore! A flash of anger dwelled up from my chest. Before I even realized it, I had him by the collar and we're face to face. "I don't have to answer shit from you!" I exclaimed. Nobody talks to Seifer Almasy like this.

"Hey, whoa! Whoa! Break it up, man!" Jeep's voice sounded to my right. "What just happened?" Two hands stuck in between us and forced me to let go. "You two knockers psycho?"

Jocifer didn't say another word. I looked at him straight in the eye. "No," I said, "they did not."

He nodded briefly. Then he abruptly turned and walked toward the shop door. I saw a flash of silver against his boots – a knife. Now I realized how empty my threat was. He could've stabbed me easily if he wanted to, and kill me, for I wasn't armed at all. I shook my head to clear that thought.

Jeep continued to stare at me. I couldn't read his expression. These Trabia people are confusing me to death. Why do they all have to be all introvert and stuff? It makes their actions unpredictable.

And I hate surprises.

I let out a little sigh. Seeing the shop door a few steps away, I walked briskly into the Crowned Child. The redhead was inspecting a sheet of tattoo designs; the hooker was sitting on a stool, ready to receive another hole in her ear shell. I scanned around the room for any interesting articles.

My eyes landed on an ad. It grabbed my attention in a second. I was absorbed by the intrigue it held. Both subtle and loud, and very appealing. I smiled a little.

"Hey," I tapped a kid that's working there. "How much for getting _that_?"

* * *

**Irvine:**

"Well, how does it look, guys?"

Selphie smiled brightly as she scanned around her. The Quad was transformed into a concert hall, completed with chairs, tables, sound system, various lights that I busted my back putting up since Seifer bailed, and the rest. The middle of the Quad was cleared up for the dance floor. Well, it would be cleared tonight. Right then Quistis was sitting in the middle e-mailing the announcement to the students.

She was still deliberately ignoring me. I wouldn't have mind before; she didn't speak much voluntarily with me a couple of days ago anyway. But now it just got on my nerves. I wanted to talk to her, not hitting on her but actually talk to her. It's fun and great to be able to charm my way around people, men included, but sometimes you know enough is enough.

Never thought I'd hear myself saying that sentence so soon. I thought I'd live up to my so-called reputation until I'm thirty or something, and then I'd go to a discreet town like Winhill and get a decent job and marry some girl for real. Not right now, when I'm not even twenty, in Balamb Garden surrounded by potential dates. No way.

But sometimes fate works against you.

"Go talk to her,"

I jumped a mile. Okay, I don't care how not-frightened-easily you claim, but if a voice suddenly protrude in your ear while you're deep in thought, believe me, it's gonna at least make your heart skip a beat. I turned to my right, making a face, "Jesus Christ, Squall, you could've tapped me on the shoulder first."

He rolled his eyes. "Go."

I put up my hands. "What man? She won't speak to me."

"Suddenly turning passive?" His tone turned slightly mocking.

What's his problem? I narrowed my eyes. He was warning me not to hurt Quistis' feelings before, now he wanted to me to go talk to her? What did he want?

I smirked at a sudden thought. "Squall, do you even know what exactly you wanted me to do yourself?"

He flinched. The pair of slate-blue eyes burnt into mine. Guess he got used to the commanding thing and was not prepared to have his orders questioned like this. Good, sometimes somebody needs to be knocked on the ground for a second.

"Irvine . . ." He started. I cocked my eyebrows at him. Then it seemed to fall on him that I was right, of course, and he closed his mouth and sighed.

"Look, man, I'll handle it." I told him. "I promise you I won't hurt her with empty words. I know, I know, coming from me it's really strange, but this time, it's for real."

It was.

He nodded. He was about to say something else but a voice called from the door. I turned and saw a SeeD cadet. I've seen the student before but never spoke to him. He had short dirty blonde hair and a nice pair of grey eyes. He looked sorta dusty, like he had been traveling for hours.

Squall did a double take. "Ryan! What are you doing here?"

Ryan? Ryan. Oh, _that_ Ryan! Wait, isn't he supposed to be at Timber?

"I came to see Rinoa, Headmaster," Ryan replied.

Squall shook his head slightly. "She went to Deling City. Her father called."

"Why?"

Squall hesitated, debating on what to tell him. Tough one, I wouldn't know what to say, either.

"It's better if she tell you herself. Plus, we don't really know." Quistis's voice rang from behind. I spun around, startled. I was pretty jumpy. Probably because of Tonberry King's nature. Acquired GF traits, not fun.

Ryan nodded in agreement. "Well, okay, I guess I'll head to DC then."

"Rest up first, you look tired." Squall recommended.

Ryan nodded again and saluted. He turned on his heels and headed toward the dormitory. I turned to Quistis, bringing up my usual smile. "Good job, Instructor."

"About what?"

"Sparing someone an awkward moment."

" . . ." See, what did I tell ya? She won't speak to me!

"And creating one for someone else right now." I cleared my throat. "Well, the Quad looks great." I changed the subject.

"Yes. Selphie's quite talented, isn't she?"

Okay, we're on the second sentence and she had to bring out Selphie's name. I admit it, I admit it, I should've made it clear to Sefie that we were just friends. Best friends in the world, but none other than. I couldn't help it if she likes me more than I did her. I couldn't.

Yeah, it's bull. Major bull. But I couldn't really change anything now. Maybe at this party tonight something'll come up and I'll think of a good way to set things right. Yeah, that's it. Party would be the savior.

"Oh, Squall, I forgot to mention it this morning," Quistis turned her attention to the leather-clad leader of ours. "Thanks."

"For?" He frowned.

"For asking Seifer to get the car for me. It's thoughtful."

Squall's expression was blank. Heck, it should be, because he didn't say that. _I_ did. Seifer, you lying bastard. It's not like my path with Quistis is all smooth in the first place, but you gotta throw in some more stones.

"Hey, whatcha guys talking about?" Selphie bounced over to our corner. "Uh-oh, I sense tension. What's up? All of y'all are so out of it today."

"Ask your boyfriend," Quistis replied. She abruptly turned and walked out the Quad. Squall gave me a meaningful glare, then followed.

Selphie gave me her innocent big-eye look. Crap, I didn't want to set anything right right now. No, wait after the party, you know.

"Um," I scratched my head. "Uh, I think we need to talk."

"About?" She chirped.

"Us. Or lack there of. Look, Sefie, I think you got the wrong idea about us." Here we go. "I, I always look at us as best friends, you know. Nothing more."

I closed my eyes for a brief second, anticipating a huge explosion. It didn't come. Instead, Selphie's face simply fell and she lost her bubbly tone. "Oh. Well, it's okay, I mean, it doesn't change anything, right? I mean, it's just a name thing and it's a bummer but, I mean . . . ."

"I'm sorry. I should've said it sooner." She was about to cry. Fuck, I felt so bad. I know I was an asshole for all these fucked up shit, but I was making amends now. At least I was trying.

" . . . ." She couldn't make out any more words without breaking down. Selphie Tilmitt is not the kind to break down in front of people, especially not in front of me. Watching her was tearing my heart to pieces.

"W-Why are you telling me this now?" She asked.

Ugh. "I think it's about time I tell you. I mean, any longer is just prolonging . . . my uh, guilt toward you and it's not fair to you."

She didn't look like she believed me. But I couldn't tell her it's because of Quistis. Right, that'll go well. Uh-huh, I'd be knocked into a ditch.

Or Quistis'll get a beating. I did not want to see that. Ever.

Selphie slumped her shoulders and sighed heavily. Then she shook her head and walked past me, brushing against my arm. I didn't turn around. I simply stared in front of me, at the stage.

First time a woman ever got to me this much. Funny, I must've dropped similar lines to dozens of girls before and didn't feel a thing. Now . . .

The stage light flickered. Crap. I slapped my hand against my forehead. Brilliant, now I gotta figure out what to do at that party. I couldn't just not go, and Selphie couldn't just not go, so if we go people'll still expect something from us, at least like we were before. She certainly won't be ready to come anywhere near me after this crazy break-up thing. And I –

I . . .

I truly wanted, and needed, to talk to someone else. Someone who's ignoring me deliberately. Someone who I know held some thing for me in her heart but just refused to acknowledge it even if the sky falls down, simply because she's afraid.

_I'm_ afraid . . .

Oh, tonight's gonna be fun. Sure.

* * *

**Selphie:**

I slumped on the pillow in my room and buried my head. Bummer. Mega bummer. I really thought we . . . Irvy . . .!

I'm not gonna cry. I'm not gonna cry. No tears. No!

I think I fell asleep while lying there. Because the next thing I knew a pair of hands was shaking me like crazy and I heard my name repeatedly.

"Selphie? Selphie? What's wrong?"

Who is that? I turned my head. Jen!

They're back! Wait, is it that late? I turned toward the window. Sure enough, the sun was low. I must've slept all afternoon.

"Nothing," I shook my head.

Jen gave me a look. "Right, seeing you without a smile means the world must've caved somewhere and killed somebody. What's wrong?"

"Noth –" I choked a little. I couldn't continue. She wouldn't believe my attempts anyways. I drew in a shaky breath and replied. "Irvy just . . . he just . . . broke up with me."

"What!" Jen exclaimed.

"What happened?" Mai came in. She jumped on top of the bed with me. "Girl, you crying? Who did what to you? I'm gonna go beat him up if he ever wronged you."

"How do you know it's a him anyways? It could be a bitch, like Q –"

"Hey!" I stopped Jen. "Don't diss my friend like that."

Jen snickered. "Well, your boyfriend is no good, so I'm having doubts about the rest of your Balamb friends, too."

"Why?" I frowned. "They're perfectly regular, nice people. Like you guys to me!"

"Well, I'm not sure about the perfect part, or the regular part, or the nice part." Matt's voice cut in. Steve followed him. "Did Kinneas do something?"

I didn't say anything. It's too crappy and my head hurts from it. Matt growled in his throat. "I knew it. And I knew that Almasy was tripping me."

"What's he tripping you about?" Jen asked.

"Kinneas and Trepe's date. Almasy denied it ever happened. Like hell, it didn't."

What? My eyes grew big. Quistis? No way! She wouldn't betray me like that. Naw, Matt's hallucinating. I didn't believe it.

"Whoa, what's going on here?" Mai piped. "Why's everybody dissing Selph's friends? I think they're okay people. Y'all're just, like, I don't know, intimidated for some reason by them. Yeah, Irvine was pretty nasty when he broke it with Selph, but that doesn't mean he cheated on her with Quistis, and it certainly doesn't mean that all the others are bad. Joce, don't pick random targets."

Steve laughed. "Ha, don't drag _Seifer_ into this Grat session, right?"

Mai grew red. "I think he's hot, okay? So shut up." She turned her nose up.

"You think Seifer is hot? What kind of taste is that?" Jen rolled her eyes. "I rather pick –"

She stopped suddenly and cleared her throat.

"Who? Oh, you won't say it because, oh . . .." Steve elbowed Jen, who glared at him. "Ha ha. Don't say it or somebody'll get angry. Ruby Dragon angry. But it's a good opportunity for you now, though, since he –"

"Shut the freak up, _Steve_," Jen hissed. "Selphie, ignore him. He's off the wall, as usual."

"Am not. I'm right on target. You're just nervous because of that."

"Yeah, okay, whatever, you two. Look, girl, cheer up!" Mai flashed a huge smile. "I mean, I know it's hard, but we do have a performance thing to do, and nobody can perform well in a sour mood. So I say, let's forget this whole thing, at least for tonight. Come on, all smiles here now."

She's so sweet. And she's right. No point letting this thing drag me down when my dream was gonna come true. I felt much better and grinned. "Mai, what am I gonna do without you."

"She's smiling, she's smiling again!" Steve's grin spreaded from ear to ear. "All right, S-bomb, we all good?"

"Yeah, it's good. It's gonna be fun." I jumped off the bed. "Let's get ready for that concert! Am I gonna perform with y'all?"

"Of course! You're gonna lead a song or two." Steve smoothed his hair back. "What songs do you know?"

"I got an idea." Jen's eyes twinkle mischievously. "This time the program is going to be a little different. Selph, don't worry about it, leave it all to me. Oh, and don't get too softhearted, either."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Matt smirked. What did Jen mean by the last thing? It went over my head. I shrugged. It would be fun, and that's all I cared at this point. It's my dream to let them perform here, so I couldn't care less what they decide to play.

"Okay, Junk Yard, let's get going!" Mai twirled around the room. "Make-up, clothes, instrument, we need to move! The show starts in a few hours! We still need to eat before going on."

"You ate enough gum to last you months," Steve said. Mai stuck out her tongue at him. With chewing gum showing, too.

"Jocifer, come on, we need to plan this program. Selph, we'll see you later." Jen and Matt left the room, the other two followed. I was by myself again.

Well, time to pick a happy dress and get ready to rock!

"Hey, Selphie," Quistis greeted me. I smiled back. She definitely would not betray me with Irvine. Matt's crazy.

"Hey! Where's everybody?" I looked around. The only other person I saw sitting at our table was Irvine. I did not feel like talking to him, so I didn't. Quistis shrugged.

The table grew quiet. Yeah, usually Zell's the first one here trying to get all the hotdogs, but now he's nowhere in sight. Neither was Squall, which was really weird since he's Headmaster and all he should be one of the first to arrive in a Garden event. And if all my friends were back, Seifer should be back, too. It's so boring with nobody here.

"Selph!" I hopped up from the table and spun around. There they are, my band, the Junk Yard. They were all in costume. Mai braided her red hair into two short braids, like Pippi Longstockings, except they're not sticking out. She got on some men's dress shirt and pants, and a loose tie. Oh, and she's chewing gum, of course. Jen wore a shiny catsuit with furry belts. It's cute and the light reflect off of it. Matt and Steve just wore pants and shirts, you know, guy stuff.

"You guys, you're supposed to be on stage already! Go, the crowd won't wait." I gestured toward all the lights.

"Well, we want you to look at this program, since you're the producer and all." Mai handed me a sheet of paper. "Look."

I took it and read it. "Uh, whoa. Some of them I need to get Squall to approve."

Jen snickered. "What? Inappropriate for children?"

Uh, yeah. We will have junior classmen at the party. It's not like it's the SeeD ball where only SeeDs can come, it's open to everyone. And speaking of Squall, he's here!

"Here, let me see it," Quistis reached for the program. I handed to her. She frowned slightly.

"You aren't the Headmaster," Jen said quietly. Quistis heard her and frowned even more, but didn't say anything. Irvine, however, started to open his mouth, but Squall came up and silenced him. I shot Jen a look. Whatever my Trabia friends said should be kept within us, and not spread everywhere.

"What's this?" Squall asked while looking over Quistis' shoulder.

"Tonight's music program," she replied. "Shouldn't we delete some of the songs because we do have children here?"

"Get rid of the children," Matt shrugged.

They both glared at him. "We can't just order all the junior classmen to leave." Squall said. "You should've specified that this concert's not suitable for young kids."

"You didn't ask." Jen replied. "I don't think kids nowadays care about a little cussing anyways. What did you expect?"

"It's kinda the Garden rule." Irvine said from his side.

Matt laughed. "Oh, yeah, I know the rules. But I didn't think you would say anything since somebody had broken some of them, frequently, already." His eyes landed on Squall.

Squall flinched. His brow tightly knitted together and he wore a shocked expression. Quistis was wide-eyed, too.

OK, my two groups of friends are fighting. Stop it. I looked back and forth at them, worried. I had no idea what Matt was talking about, but it didn't look good. No fighting, please! I mean, they're all my friends. Well, except for one at this moment, but still.

Steve must've seen my expression, for he cleared his throat. "Ahem. Hey, how about this. On some of the songs, we'll just blot out the cuss words or sing another clean version of it. You know, instead singing 'Closer' we'll just do the Super Mario remix of the song, or something like that."

There's a Super Mario remix of the song? I didn't know that! Cool, I gotta listen to that! Steve's so sweet.

Everyone seemed to agree with that idea. Great, phew, I was worried Squall'll postpone the concert or something. That just couldn't happen! I felt Mai tugging my sleeve. "Selph, let's go. You're needed backstage."

I nodded and smiled. Then we all headed toward the side door that lead to the backdrop. Once we're separated from the crowd, Jen slapped Steve hard on the head. He yelled.

"What was that for!"

"That, dumbass, was for ruining what I planned for hours on." Jen fumed. "And you, Jamaica, should've kept the program back here."

"I gotta at least show Selphie." Mai protested.

"Show her here! Augh, whatever, I'm not blotting any words out, thank you very much. That ruins the song."

"Neither am I," grumbled Matt.

They can't do that! Squall'll get mad, and afterwards who gets a lecture? Me. "Hey, I thought y'all agreed!" I poked Jen, who rolled her eyes.

"What is the problem with you two Geezards?" Steve put his hands on his hip. "We are guests here. I don't know about you, but that Squall guy's really nice. So is Seifer for showing us around, and how did, you, Jocifer, managed to tick him off was beyond me. And –"

"And Kinneas swindled S-bomb here with the Instruc –" Matt started.

"What does that have to do with any of the other friends Selphie have here?" Steve cut him off. "Plus, you don't even know for sure anything's happening between those two. I didn't see nothing. Just 'cause Selphie's boyfriend broke up with her doesn't mean we have to be rude to the Headmaster or the Trepe girl or anyone else."

"Um, as much as I like to hear everyone argue, we do have a show to do. In about three minutes, you know?" Mai popped a piece of fresh gum in her mouth. "Selphie, the introduction, please?"

I gotta thank Mai again for stopping this madness. Well, here we go. I turned my face toward the curtains, off the stage.

* * *


	6. Part III: Explosives (B)

**

* * *

**

Barbed Wire

Part III: Explosives

**Squall:**

"_That_ was refreshing," Irvine commented as he sat back in the chair. "How did they figure out about you and Seifer, Squall?"

I had no idea, so I shrugged. I hadn't seen Seifer all day; he managed to disappear after the return from Balamb. He also seemed to be deliberately avoiding me. Why? No idea, either. "I'm not even sure he _knows_ exactly. He could be bluffing."

Quistis shook her head. "Jocifer does not look like a bluff kind of person. He doesn't speak much, but everything he says has a point. Squall," I looked up. "I think it's better if we get the kids out of here."

I raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Because I really don't think they're going to blot out any foul language. In fact, I think that's the point. They're trying to break rules to get to you. Or us."

"And they would want to get to us because . . . " She's making perfect sense. But what did we do?

"Because I broke up with Selphie."

I stared at him. Irvine broke up with Selphie? He actually did? Since when did the rebel of all rebels follow my advice? If he hadn't said it with such a serious undertone, I wouldn't believe it if my life depend on it.

"Geez, Squall, don't need to burn a hole in my forehead," Irvine laughed lightly. "Yes, I broke up with her. Which would explain the unusual behavior of her Trabian friends, although I don't know what _is_ usual behavior for them."

"That's not unusual; that's uncivil. Rude." Quistis seethed. She's angry at something other than what Jocifer said. "Anyways, Squall, the kids?"

Oh. "Yes, you're right. I'll go make the announcement right –" Before I could stand up or finish my sentence, the lights dimmed and Selphie's high soprano shook the air.

Too late.

"Ahem," She clasped her hands together. "OK, first of all, I apologize for this, but the junior classmen need to be excused. I am very sorry that I forgot to specify it, but I didn't know about the requirement until a few minutes ago. So, please?"

Hmm, maybe not too late. The junior classmen all groaned, but, following orders, they soon left the Quad. The Quad crowd did not seem to thin out any. Selphie and her friends had packed a good show, and the students seemed all too eager for it to begin.

"Well, since that's cleared up," Selphie smiled brightly. "I welcome and thank all of you for attending this concert. Y'all're gonna have so much fun tonight. And without further delay, here is The Junk Yard!"

At that, the stage lit up and the four Trabia musicians appeared. Jen and Jocifer both had electric guitars in their hands. Jamaica was in charge of the keyboard, and Jeep was the drummer. Selphie was in charge of the synthesizer for any other necessary additions. They looked great.

"Boy, I feel useless," said I. Selphie ran the entire show. It didn't exactly make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

"Don't." A voice rang behind me as a hand caressed my neck. Seifer. I turned toward him as he sat down between me and Quistis. I smiled.

"Where were you? I haven't seen you all afternoon. I thought you came back around lunch."

"Later than that, but . . ." he smirked. "Where's chicken-wuss?" He asked Quistis.

"His name's 'Zell,'" she scoffed. "Seifer, you never change. He's with Dr. Kadowaki, making the rest of the potion with the Heroes."

"Ah. So, I guess it's just the four of us, huh, since Selphie's too busy to bother with her Balamb friends. Or rather, bother with her ex-boyfriend."

Irvine frowned. "How did you know that?"

"I didn't. You just confirmed it for me. I had a hunch because you're still sitting here. You should be over there cheering her on, like a boyfriend should."

"I never did that," Irvine frowned even more.

"Which either means you're uncomfortable with PDA or you didn't really like her that way in the first place. Since it's you, I'm assuming the latter. But, anyway, that's not my problem. Now I'm gonna do what a boyfriend should do." He stood up, dragging me up with him. I struggled a little to get out of his iron grip, but he just grinned more and started to head to the middle of the Quad floor. The place where the most people were dancing.

"Seifer!" I hissed. "What are you doing? Let go!" OK, I know I did say that I wouldn't hide our relationship anymore. But, like any average person, saying and actually doing are totally different things. I felt my heart tighten. A nervous feeling reeled in my stomach.

We got to where he wanted and stopped. He turned around to face me, with the most sincere look I've ever seen in his eyes. He linked his hands behind my back, leaned forward, and kissed me.

I was so shocked that I didn't move for several seconds. My eyes were wide open, and I saw clearly the people around us, some gaped while others frowned. Most were as shocked as I was. I heard gasps and other things being uttered, one of them distinguishably was Selphie shrieking "Oh my God!" over the music. But all of these disappeared from my mind when Seifer pushed his tongue inside my mouth.

Something round and cold scraped against my teeth. His hot tongue found my own and started teasing it. The coldness didn't disappear, but stayed in the middle of all the heat. I felt my tongue moving against a metal ball, teasing back. Then he began to slightly suck on my lips, with his hands roaming around the small of my back, and ventured lower to rub my thigh.

I finally started to respond. I leaned into his touch. My eyes closed, for I didn't care to look at the people's reactions anymore. I wrapped my arms around his neck and started playing with his golden hair. Our kiss still hadn't break, and I didn't want it to. The metal ball – apparently his newly acquired tongue ring – roamed the roof of my mouth. My breathing became short and irregular, so had his. I moaned, loud enough for pretty much everyone to hear. The warmth from our mouths transferred into a stream and headed toward my stomach. Toward the place between my legs. I knew he felt it. And I certainly felt him.

After what seemed like an eternity, he broke the kiss. We were both gasping for breath, and I knew my cheeks were flushed. I was pretty sure in real time frame the kiss lasted less than thirty seconds. Seifer smirked and raised his eyebrows suggestively. I couldn't help but grin back.

"So . . . when did you get a tongue ring?" I asked him.

Seifer laughed out loud. "That's all you have to say? Asking about the ring? I got it this morning, at the Crowned Child. You like it?"

"Does it hurt?"

"Nothing a Cure can't handle."

"Ah," I shifted in his arms to get more comfortable, as we slow-danced to the music. "So that's why you've been avoiding me all afternoon."

"And you are still beating around the bush, avoiding the obvious topic. Oh, look at all these people staring at us." He raised his voice. "Hey, what're you –"

"Shut up!" I kicked his foot. I didn't need him to get us more blatant than it already was.

He laughed again. The rumble in his chest felt nice. "See, nobody beat us up or yelled at us to get out."

"That's because I'm _Headmaster_." I replied quietly.

"So what were you afraid of before?"

I lowered my gaze. It's not what they _do_, it's what they _say_. I didn't care what the students were doing now, but what about tomorrow? When I need to assign SeeD missions or run the everyday errands, the students would lose their respect for me. Because of my sexual preference.

Because Squall Leonhart is gay and his lover is Seifer Almasy.

And he's Headmaster of Balamb Garden, which do have a reputation to hold.

"Look, baby, you can't stop their brains." Seifer seems to have read my thoughts. "People will always think, and be judgmental to a degree. We just gotta deal with it. And things aren't always as bad as you think. For example, when you found out Headmaster Cid was married to Matron, the sorceress you're supposed to kill who's evil at the time, did it make you lose all the respect you had for Cid?"

I shook my head. "But that's different."

"I see no difference. Who you want to be with is none of their business. Let them stare. They just find us sexy and they're envious."

I scoffed lightheartedly. "Yeah, I'm sure _that's_ the case."

"Of course it is," His expression turned smug. "You just gotta convince yourself of it. Now shut up, because I like this song."

I smiled and laid my head on his shoulder. All that got through to my mind then was the sound of Seifer's heartbeat, and the lyric of the song from the stage.

_And scars are souvenirs you never lose  
The past is never far  
Did you lose yourself somewhere out there?  
Did you get to be a star?  
And don't it make you sad to know that life  
Is more than who we are_

* * *

**Quistis:**

I felt a smile creep up my face. So Seifer finally had enough. And apparently Squall finally stopped worrying about what people'll think. It's odd, since Squall didn't care what anyone thinks at all prior to Ultimecia, but I guess being Headmaster there were some aspects one has to worry. There's more responsibility and Garden's reputation should not be damaged.

Leave it to Seifer to pull something like this. It worked.

"Nice song," Irvine rested his arms on the table. "Who knew Jocifer had such a nice baritone, although I'm sure the original artists were tenors."

"What's the song's name?" I asked. It was indeed nice, appropriate for the couple in the middle of the floor anyways.

"'Name' by Goo Goo Dolls. It'd be better if Selphie had not screamed in the middle of it." He shook his head.

"She didn't know."

"Still. Hey," He suddenly stood up as 'Name' ended. "I think the song I requested is next. Come on, let's dance."

"You requested?" I didn't move. "How? When?"

He shrugged. "I talked to Jeep. He's cool with it. How did he get Jen to agree to put it on there, I haven't the slightest idea. Come on, Instructor, dance with me."

He doesn't quit. I sighed, and reluctantly got up. He took my hand, planted a kiss on it, and strode toward the door. People's attention was still on Squall and Seifer, so our spot was relatively desolated. Just then the first verse of the song came on, in the mezzo-soprano of Jen and the alto of Jamaica.

_There are two of us talking in circles  
__And one of us who wants to leave  
__In a world created for only us  
__An empty cage that had no key  
__Don't you know that we're working with flesh and blood  
__Carving out of jealousy  
__Crawling into each other, it's smothering  
__Every little part of me _

I groaned. "Irvine Kinneas, if you have something to say to me, just say it. Don't get a song to do the job for you."

"Sarah McLachlan's 'Circle.' Soothing song, eh?" He ignored my accusation and pulled me into his arms. "I heard your insomnia is cured."

I rolled my eyes. "Finding random topic to talk about now?"

He looked at me. "Quistis, why are you denying it?"

"What am I denying?" Direct, isn't he?

"Honey, it's okay now. I'm single." His turn to roll his eyes. "Never wasn't in the first place, but apparently that needed some fixing."

I shook my head. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yeah, you do."

"No, I – ugh," I scoffed. Yes, I knew perfectly well what he's talking about. "It's not fair to Selphie."

"Wha – I broke up with her already, so to speak."

"See, your relationship's ruined because of me. You broke it for me, I know. I'm not stupid. And it's wrong; it shouldn't happen."

"There's nothing that shouldn't happen because there wasn't anything in the beginning! She's my best friend, _best friend_, that's it. And – hold on a minute girl, I ain't finished talking to ya." I turned to leave but he twisted me back into his arms. "And . . . okay, I just lost my train of thought."

I stifled a laugh. He's going to make a huge speech, but he's scatterbrained, like Laguna. "Right, can I leave now?"

"No! Look, give me a chance. You're not betraying Selphie, not after we've separated."

"You lost a best friend. And everyone, including me, thinks you two are meant to be."

He was staring at me again. Please stop or I'll –

"Yeah, I did lose a best friend – for like a week, tops. Sefie'll come to her senses faster than she can fly the Ragnarok. And if you're talking meant-to-be's, so's Squall and Rinoa. What happened to them now? He's got a boyfriend and she's pregnant with another guy's kid."

I couldn't think of anything else to say. So I concentrated on the song again.

What kind of love is this that keeps me hanging on

Despite everything it's doing to me

What is this love that keeps me coming back for more

When it will only end in misery

Big mistake. Irvine sure could choose his songs.

He's quiet. I looked up and saw straight into his eyes. The shiny indigo burnt into mine. I could feel my heart crumble and my knees weaken all of a sudden. The room began to spin again, similar to the one last night. Last night . . .

"Quistis," He breathed out my name. I absentmindedly pushed against his chest. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Seifer and Squall at our table, watching us. But all I could focus on was the feel of his breath. His left hand moved up to my face, lifted my chin. Oh, God, those lips . . .

His arm tightened around me. Blood rushed through my temple, and all over my body. He leaned closer, our faces just centimeters apart. A ghost of a touch tingled my own lips. Then . . ..

_I know too many people unhappy  
__In a life from which they'd love to flee  
__Watching others get everything offered  
__They're wanton for discovery  
__Oh my brother, my sister, my mother  
__You're losing your identity  
__Can't you see that it's you in the window  
__Shining with intensity_

"OH MY GOD! NOOO!"

I gasped loudly and tore away from Irvine. I spun around, and saw Selphie, wide-eyed with tears, frozen on the stage. Oh, idiot! How could I forget that she's here! No, now I really had hurt her. I should not have listen to Irvine. Should not let him convince me. Should not –

Selphie dropped whatever she was doing and dashed off the stage. She zoomed past the crowd and disappeared through the Quad door. My God, what have I done! Ignoring Irvine's hand on my wrist, I shook him off and ran after Selphie. I needed to apologize. It'd never happen again. I needed to tell her that. I had to!

"Excuse me!" I weaved my way through the astonished crowd. I had to catch up. "Selphie! Listen to me!"

I ran through the Quad door and crashed down the hallway. Thank goodness I was wearing pants and boots and not a horrible skirt. The main hallway appeared before me. Where did she go?

I didn't slow my pace, so I turned toward a door. She probably ran outside into the woods. Or the Fire Cavern, Ifrit being junctioned to her had a preference to heat. Not a good place to cool off, but a homey place.

"Oof!" Somebody knocked solidly into me. Or maybe I into her. The next second we're both on the floor.

"Quistis! Great, I found you!" Xu exclaimed.

"What?" I rubbed my temples.

"Here, can you please give this to Dr. Kadowaki?" She handed me a bag. Why? "I couldn't find her at the infirmary. I think she's in the Quad or at the Bridge. I have another errand to run so if you give this to her I'd be grateful."

"What is this?" I strung the bag on my waist.

"The purified and condensed Heroes. It sure takes a lot of time to make that potion for Mrs. Dincht."

Oh. But my mind was still set on chasing after Selphie. "Um, did Selphie run past you?"

"Yeah!" Xu replied. "I just saw her running out the door, heading toward the woods, I think. It looked like she was crying. What's –"

"I'll explain later," Got to catch up! "Thanks, Xu!" I yelled over my shoulder as I headed to the exit.

"Sure, no problem. Dr. Kadowaki, Quistis! Don't forget! Somebody's life depends on that bag!"

_What kind of love is this that keeps me hanging on  
__Despite everything it's doing to me  
__What is this love that keeps me coming back for more  
__When it will only end in misery

* * *

_

**Zell:**

"Hand me the syringe, Zell, please," Dr. Kadowaki said.

I picked up the syringe and gave it to her. That's the second to last ingredient. The only other one was the Heroes, but they needed to be condensed, or something, so they'll be more powerful and cure faster. I was anxious as hell; Ma's gonna be all right. She already suffered enough, don't need no more.

Dr. Kadowaki gave Ma the shot consists of Megalixir and a few of the Heroes. Minutes after, Ma's skin color turned from that awful blue to her normal color. Yowza! I jumped and did a victory dance.

"Just a little to early to be cheering, young man," Dr. K smiled. "She's out of danger now, though. After this dosage, she should be fine in general."

"So why do we even need to the rest of the Heroes?" We only used about half of the stock. What's with the other fifty?

"Those are the ones that'll replenish all the energy she had lost and reinforce the effect of this dosage." Dr. K explained. "It'd finish the healing procedure. Xu!" She called out into the outer room of the Infirmary.

"Yes?" the Asian girl poked her head inside the lab.

"Run this to the MD level and use the condenser there, please." Dr. K handed Xu the bag of scattered Heroes. "Make sure it's blended, not swirled together. And make sure it –"

"Yes, Doctor, I know," Xu smiled. "I've done condensing millions of times. No worries. And Zell," I looked at her, "it's all going to be all right. At least concerning your mom, yes, I am sure of it."

"How long will it take before it's done?" I pointed to the Heroes.

"It's quick. About twenty minutes or so. I'll be right back." With that, Xu turned and closed the door behind her.

I let out a breath of relief. Last step, not even that important of a step, compared to everything else we've done. I've seen enough recovering and healing items and methods this afternoon to last me a lifetime. I also know that there ain't no way I'm gonna be a doctor.

"All right, I think things are in order now." Dr. K turned around and adjusted the I.V. unit that hung next to Ma's bed. "Don't you have a concert to go to tonight?"

Oh, shit! Yeah! It totally slipped my mind. Selphie's band, Junk something-or-other, was gonna perform tonight. And I had promised her I'd be there! I glanced at my wristwatch. It's way past 8. The thing started around 7. Man, I'd get it in the morning. Oh, yeah, that girl'll beat me up or nag me all day.

"Yeah, Dr. K, thanks for reminding me. I think I'll go now."

"Just a – ah, nevermind, go. Have fun."

"What?" I glanced over and saw she was frowning at an empty bottle on the table. We ran out of something. "What?" I asked again.

"We ran out of lysander liquids. I'll need it when the Heroes arrive."

"What for?"

"The condensed Heroes have a side effect if it's not used properly. It could cause minor blood anemia, or blood shortage, when given because the cells were used up to repair damaged skin cells and clotting. I don't think it's a good idea to put your mom through that. Lysander has the ability to trigger more blood production, therefore counter the effect. Unfortunately, I think I used the last one in another injury."

Oh. "So . . . where can we find more?"

"Oh, it's easy to find. Around the Balamb woods and the mountain area. Don't worry about it, Zell, you go to the concert. I can easily dig up some."

No need. I got it. "It's okay, I got it covered. What does it look like?"

"Zell, really –"

"Aw, come on! It's not a problem." Yeah, and it'd give me a legitimate reason for being late. I could just say I was out digging lysanders and Selphie won't chew me out. Ha.

"It's a purple flower with blue centers. It also glows white at night, so it should be easy to spot. I just need a handful or two." Dr. Kadowaki handed me a pouch. "Here, just put them in here."

"Cool. I'll be back in a second." I pushed open the door to the Infirmary, then zoomed out the building. The quicker I get this done, the better.

Balamb at night was usually quiet. Besides for a few crickets and such, and a Bite Bug or two, any other creature was rare. That is, if you stay on the road and the open grass. I stayed away from the woods at night ever since I came here. T-Rexaurs were mostly active at night. I ain't got the heart set on taking one down by myself yet, even though I had both Shiva and Bahamut.

I looked around the base of the mountain. There weren't any white glowing flowery things. Damn, I had to go into the woods. I didn't want to go into the woods. No, I wasn't scared, okay? I was just kinda cautious because if I run into a T-Rexaur I'd be killed! Or at least badly beaten. Yeah, you try to take down one of those at Level 65 by yourself. Ha ha ha.

Sigh. Guess I had no choice. Sigh again. I picked up my sneakered feet and trudged into the Balamb Woods.

I saw the little flowers almost at once. Hey, this is easy! I bent down and started digging them up by the shovel full. She only needed a few; I'd be done in two minutes.

_BOOM! _

I jumped about two feet in the air. What the heck was that! I saw a huge flash in the middle of the woods. It was so bright and it looked kinda red. Huh? Somebody set off a bomb or something?

After that a few seconds of eerie silence followed. I still couldn't move. Somehow I had a feeling a huge explosion like that there should be something else after it. I mean, even the aftershock's enough to knock down a few trees or something.

_"AUUUGGGGHHHHHH!" _

"Hell!" I yelled to myself. Yep, I was right. I hate it when I'm right. That was the most blood-curdling scream I've ever heard. Goosebumps crept up my arms. It just sound so . . . devastating. Somebody must've been in some serious pain! I better go help them! Man, Zell Dincht's not built to watch a bad thing and do nothing.

I stuffed the pouch in my pants pocket and ran toward the center of the woods. The scream sounded like a woman. Thinking of that made me sped up my pace.

Huh? A shadow just zoomed in front of me. "Who's there!" I called into the darkness and slowed down. I knew I saw something.

Rustle. Trees moved to my right. I jumped a few strides and saw a figure crouched on the ground. The yellow dress caught my attention immediately.

"Selphie?" I cried in surprise. "Whatcha doing here?"

She looked at me. Her eyes were all glazed over and her hands were trembling. Whoa, girl! I sat on the ground next to her and held her hand. "Z-Zell?"

"Yeah, 's me. What happened? I heard this huge explosion and. . . you okay?"

She nodded. "Uh-huh. Uh-huh. I'm fine. It's not my fault! Really, Zell, it's not my fault!"

"Huh? What? Your fault? I have no idea whatcha talking about, girl. I'm sure whatever it is it's not your fault. I mean, that's some big bomb."

Selphie stiffed and started shaking her head violently. "It's their – It's not – They went out! They, she, betrayed me. She betrayed me, Zell, she did! I –"

"Whoa, whoa, calm down. It's over. It's gone now. Okay?" I had no idea what she's talking about, but it's better to calm her down than let her tie herself into crazy knots. I wrapped my arm around her and patted her soft hair.

She seemed to be somewhat calm. Well, somewhat. "Quistis . . . " she mumbled.

"Quistis what?" I loosened my grip and she raised her head to look at me. Her big green eyes were moist. She looked spooked.

"She . . yes . . She betrayed me!" Her voice suddenly got loud. "She was cheating on me with Irvine! That's why he broke up with me! That is why! Zell! It's not my fault! I got dumped and cheated on!"

My own eyes became big. Holy crap, no. Naw! That can't be true. If that's true, oh, I'm so gonna kick Kinneas' ass! And I'm gonna go chew out Quistis, too. No way, she must be mistaken! I mean, it's one thing to like someone when they're taken, it's another to actually _get_ with someone when they're taken. And the latter is unacceptable!

"Are you sure, Selphie? I mean, I don't think they –"

I stopped my sentence. The look on her eyes was as determined and as sure as anything. I believed her. Ugh, that bastard. How dare he cheat on Selphie! He's gonna get it. Oh yeah. Definitely.

Selphie was shaking again. I hugged her closer and she welcomed it. My job at hand was to calm her down. Then I'll go solve the rest of the problem that caused her all this pain.

* * *

**Seifer:**

Something clicked inside my head as I watched Quistis chased after Selphie out the door. Something dreadful. Wrong. Premonition.

I never had a premonition before. Okay, not true, I had a few, but never one that felt this _right_. This one, heh, it's bugging me, big time.

I felt someone squeezing my hand. Squall. We exchanged worried glances. He looked even worse than me. I leaned down to talk in his ear. "You stay here, keep an eye on the cowboy. I'll go after them."

He nodded quickly. With that, I pushed past the crowd, who were mostly standing around wondering what's going on since the music stopped. Where'd they go?

"Thanks, Xu!" Ah, Quistis' voice. I spun toward the source, which seemed to be heading out the door. I zoomed past Xu, whom I assume gave Quistis Selphie's directions. No far ahead I saw a flash of white. That's Quistis's shirt. Okay, I'm good at this following thing.

The white dot was vivid in the black of night. It actually wasn't that dark yet, but it was enough to stop most monsters. So wherever they'd gone they should be saf –

Unless they run into the woods. And guess what? That's exactly where the spot of white was aiming for. Wonderful. Yeah, get yourself killed with a T-Rex. Oh, fuck it! I scoffed at their stupidity and followed. I sped up, too. If somebody's gonna die we might as well give it a try and fight for our lives.

Thank Hades for Pandemona's speed junctions.

I raced after the white dot. It got bigger. She's slowing down. Then, not that far ahead, I saw a flash of yellow. All righty, there's Selphie. I found my women.

"Get away from me! Bitch!"

Okay, did I say women? I meant cats. Really nasty cats.

"Selphie, please listen to me! I –"

"NO! You, how could you! You, arggh!"

By then I had made it into the clearing. Quistis and Selphie were, apparently, having a small argument going on. I stayed behind a rock. As long as they're safe from T-Rex's and nobody takes out their weapons or something, I think I'd stay out.

"It is not what you think. There isn't anything between us. I swear!" Quistis sounded so devastated.

"Oh, yeah, I'm sure. And he went on date with you for nothing last night, huh?" And since when did sweet bouncy Tilmitt turned into, into, uh, _that_!

"That was not a date! That was –"

"So you two did go somewhere last night, period!" Selphie scoffed. "I didn't believe Matt when he told me. I thought you're my friend and my friend won't turn her back on me! Guess not! You're just, just like Rinoa. A slut."

Quistis gasped. I took in a breath myself. Selphie had gone off the edge. Or was she like this truly and all the happy-go-lucky stuff was a simple cover-up? Either way, she was pissed. Beyond pissed. What would Selphie do when she's pissed?

"I –" Quistis lost her voice. Shit, I'd be too.

"Ha, no come-back for that one, huh?" Something glittered in the pure green eyes of the usual perky girl. "Why, because it's true? Because you are just a no-good _whore_ who want to get inside my boyfriend's p –"

"Shut up! NO!"

"And it worked too! You _happy_ now!" Selphie's voice was on hysterics. She was sobbing at the same time. "Now that he's yours, totally yours. I love him, do you know that? _I love him_. But he, he . . . You... . . .. _Augh_!"

I should've stepped out right there. I fucking should have.

But I didn't.

Instead, I still watched. I watched Selphie's face twisted with rage. And Quistis', full of shame that should not be placed on her, and anger. Bottled-up anger that could find no release for. She really shouldn't be blamed. Selphie was just too pissed right then to think straight.

"_WHY ARE YOU STILL HERE, BITCH! BE GONE! GO! GO! GO!" _

A haze, dark and misty, flew out of Selphie's hands. Another mist joined, along with the burning red of a Firaga spell. That was as far as I could recognize before –

_BOOM! _

Holy Mother of God!

The blast was so massive and so bright and I had to shield my eyes for a few moments. The smell of charred wood, burnt grass, and the familiar scent of blood reached my nostrils. Holy fuck! Shit! SHIT!

I jumped out from behind the rock and landed on scorched earth. Damn, what the Hell had happened? I waited a few more moments to get my eyes adjusted back to the sudden darkness. Selphie's nowhere in sight. Quistis . . .

Quistis!

She was knocked down (no shit) on the dry soil. I raced to her and slipped, falling knees first beside her. What I slipped on was her blood. It formed a pool around her, a couple of centimeters thick. Fuck it! She was covered with blood, from her chest to her abdomen. A dark muddle in the absence of light.

"Quistis, oh my god, Quistis! Can you hear me?" I wrapped my right arm around her to hoist her up. Her eyes were wide open, but they're not looking at me but straight at the sky. Is she . . . no, she's breathing. Irregularly, but still breathing.

Then she screamed.

The most frightening scream I've ever heard in my life. And I'm telling you, I've heard plenty of screams. It chilled my entire skeleton frame, traveling from the top of my spine to my tailbone. She was tearing her heart out, along with her vocal cords.

"Whoa, whoa, Quistis!" I wrapped my other arm around her and put her head to my chest. "Honey, it's okay! It's over. It's over! Shhhhh." I gotta quiet her down. Hysteria wouldn't help anybody.

Her scream broke up into shorter and shorter pieces and finally died down. Her eyes focused on me. "S-Seifer?" She said hoarsely.

"Yeah. Don't talk, drink this first!" Man, was I ever glad that I had two Elixirs and some Curaga spells on me. I handed her the bottle of Elixir and casted several Curagas on her. That's when I noticed she suffered from massive burning injuries. From her shoulder blades, down her two arms, and it also turned the last few inches of her long beautiful blonde hair into ashes. Jesus fucking Christ!

The wounds did not close up much and I realized I was running out of Curagas. Fuck! I searched through my items and fumbled out a Remedy and some Hi-potions. "Come on, girl, drink these, too!" I ordered.

She shook her head sadly. "Seifer, don't worry about it. I'm not going to make it, I know. I . . ."

"Don't say that! You are going to make it, okay? Look, it's just –"

"An explosion? Yes. Do you want to know what caused this explosion?"

I stopped listening to her but concentrated on spreading the Remedy on her wounds. Even in the lack of color I knew her blood was not right. It was thicker, and it smelled wrong. If this was daylight I know for a fact that her blood color was black. She's severely poisoned along with the rest of whatever injury she's suffering from.

"It's Pain and Meltdown thrown together, with a fire spell."

I raised my head. "That's impossible. They don't mix."

"Exactly." She suddenly keeled over and started coughing on me. Thick liquid splattered my coat. More blood. Good God, she's enduring internal bleeding, too?

I felt a blind rage enveloping my head. It's a stupid rage, because it shouldn't be there and had no reason to be. But it's there, nonetheless. Nobody should be treated like this no matter what they'd done. In my opinion, she didn't even do anything but fall in love. And her beloved didn't do anything but love her back. That's it. Love has no logic, and it cannot be helped or easily changed. I know that personally.

"You are not going to die, you hear me?" I shifted her so she'd be more comfortable in my arms. "You are not. I'll take you back to Garden and let Dr. Ka –"

"No!" She suddenly exclaimed. Then her breath hitched and she choked out more quietly. "No. Please."

"Quisty, I can't cure you! I have nothing left to cure you with and you need help. Bad."

She shook her head. "Not Garden. Not Garden. Just . . . call Matron."

Matron? Shit, Matron lives in Centra! That's twenty plus hours worth of boat ride. No fucking way I'm gonna send her on such a voyage. But she's right, Matron could help. Sis was there, too. They could help her. How do I get her there?

Think, Almasy, think!

I got it!

"Okay, Quistis. Okay. You're going there. All right?" I fished around my pants pocket until I got out a portable communication device. I punched in the number and put the receiver to my ear.

"HELLO?" Fujin's voice. Great.

My posse works for Laguna now. They're his personal assistants. They're my contact for anything involving outside Balamb.

"Fu? Hey, this is Seifer. Listen, I need to talk to Laguna."

"SEIFER?" On the background I heard Raijin saying "Seifer? It's Seifer, ya know!"

"Yeah. Please? I need to speak with him."

"AFFIRMATIVE." The phone was handled a couple of times, then Laguna's cheerful voice sounded in the receiver.

"Yeah? It's Laguna."

"I need to borrow the Ragnarok."

"Huh?" He was taken aback. "Now?"

"Yes. Right now. It's an emergency."

"Okay, then." Laguna knows about me and Squall. He didn't object in the least. In fact, he treats me like another son, which I am grateful for. "It'll be there in fifteen or so minutes. I'm sending Fujin to fly it."

"Thanks. A lot. Oh, tell her to bring some Elixirs."

"K."

Click. Fifteen or so minutes. Then from here to Centra, in the Ragnarok, would take twenty to thirty minutes. Less than an hour.

"Quistis, hey," I nudged her. She was about to drift into unconsciousness, and that's always bad in cases like this. "Stay awake, hon. You'll be seeing Matron in less than an hour. Hold on. An hour. Please."

She looked at me weakly.

"Come on, girl. Hold on, for me. For all of us. For Kinneas. Please."

She nodded. Then she smiled. A weak one, but she smiled.

I let go of the breath that I'd been holding for whatever minutes ago. A sigh of relief.

* * *

**Irvine:**

"I am sorry for tonight's interruption, but the concert will be postponed. It will be rescheduled, however, so listen for it in the announcements." Squall said to the confused crowd. Good ole Headmaster duty. I couldn't care less. I briskly started to walk toward the door, but Squall stopped me.

"Irvine. Stay." He paused my motion with his gloved hands. "Seifer's after them."

"Oh, and he specifically told you to keep an eye on me, huh?" I knew him. Both of them.

Squall sighed. "Yes. I'm pretty sure he got it covered."

"So what are _we_ gonna do?"

"Stay here."

I watched as the last of the students dissipate out the door. The Quad was about as empty as, well, I never seen it this empty. I mean, there'd always be people in here doing _something_. It changed from the loud music pumping state to as quiet as the library. You could hear a pin drop.

_Boom. _

"What was that?" My head snapped up. It sounded like a small explosion. Actually, if we could hear it in the Quad, it's not exactly that small. "You hear that?"

Squall nodded. His scowl became deeper. Worried about Seifer, probably. Maybe I should go out there and check, just in case –

"Auuggghhhhh!"

I flinched. Something weird crawled into my spine. That sounded like Quistis. No, that _was_ Quistis. I didn't know how could I tell, but before I realized it I was running to the door full speed. Judging by the distance, she should be in the woods. I heard Squall call my name. I ignored him.

Before I could even step out into the corridor, something knocked solidly into my stomach. My breath caught in my throat and I saw the ceiling while my back contacted with the floor. I felt four hands dragging me up, two on each arm. Then someone's fist clashed with my jaw. My teeth knocked into my cheek and it stung for moment before I felt warmth filled the inside.

"That is for Selphie, loser!"

Ah, the band. Figures.

A steel-toed boot kicked my shin. Jocifer's, no doubt. I struggled out the grip before I heard my knee snap. Ok, I have no time to play with y'all. I managed to leap out another one's kick. I needed to get to the woods. Anything else I couldn't care less.

"Ooof!" Jocifer landed on top of me. He drilled his elbow into the curve of my spine. OW! Spots danced in front of my eyes. I couldn't breathe. Pressure. Ow. Ow! My head swam and my eyes shut close.

"Get off of him."

The pressure gradually lightened and disappeared. I flipped on my back and sucked in a deep breath. Then I started coughing. Something sticky traveled up my larynx, metallic tasting, and I coughed some more.

A hand hauled me slowly to my feet. I opened my eyes, and saw Squall, with his gunblade pressed against Jocifer's throat. The other three were frozen in place. I guess Squall told them to or he's gonna slice off Jocifer's head. My hat, due to some miracle, was still on. God, I love that hat.

"Leave. Now!" The Headmaster ordered. Jocifer gave me a dagger look, then followed his troupe out the Quad. That went swell.

"You're armed?" I asked Squall as he put up the Lion Heart.

"You're not?" He returned equally, eyes flickering in my direction.

"Why would I need to be armed at a dance?"

"Well, you just gained a reason. Seifer!" His attention turned behind me, as the cross-trenchcoated man stepped in the threshold. He was covered with blood. "What –?"

"Don't ask, I'll tell you later. You, cowboy, got a fucking time-bomb of a girlfriend, you know that!" Seifer's voice was infused with anger. What did that mean?

"Where's Quistis?" I asked.

Seifer looked harshly at me. "I don't know."

Liar. That was such a lie that it's not even funny. "Don't lie to me." I demanded. "Where is Quistis? Is she okay?"

"Refer to my previous statement." Seifer snickered as he sat down in a chair. More like dropped down. He looked beat.

"Seifer, what happened? Why are you . . . like this?" Squall gestured at the blood-soaked clothing.

"Didn't I –"

"Look, you can't just show up, looking like you've been to a massacre, and tell me to ask you later. What happened? Where's Selphie? And Quistis?"

Seifer looked at Squall, then glared at me, then sighed. "Squall, listen, Quistis told me not to tell. I can't betray her like that."

"Yo! Where's that damn cowboy!"

Zell stumbled through the door. "And where's Quistis?"

Now why did everyone have to find the person that I'm interested in finding? As if things weren't already complicated enough, we had to add the hyperactive shorty into the category –

– who seem to be holding a grudge against _me_, for some reason. Zell saw me and immediately jumped in front of me, pulled back his arm, and hit me, with his Erhgeiz on, squarely below my breastbone.

"Zell, don't!" Squall's warning came too late. I gasped and choked on my breath, for the third time in less than half an hour. The warm feeling that I had been suppressing down since Jocifer knocked into me returned. I couldn't hold it down this time, and I doubled over. A blast of metallic and bittersweet liquid surged from the inside of my throat and poured onto the ground in front of me. Red splattered on Zell's and my own clothes.

"Wha – I didn't do that! I can't cause that with one blow!" A bewildered Zell took a couple of steps back. My inside was burning and a sharp pain zoomed through my veins. I staggered backwards before I grabbed a chair to keep my balance. I looked up, and saw Seifer gave me a concerned look, while Squall was fuming at Zell.

"No shit you didn't do that, the Junk Yard did." Squall frowned. "Would you lay off of him already? What got you so mad anyways?"

"He cheated on Selphie with Quistis!"

Ha ha. Well.

Seifer stood up. "Chicken-wuss, what the fuck are you talking about? And how did you know this? I thought you're in the Infirmary."

"SEIFER! I'M WARNING YOU!" Zell balled up his fists. Squall walked over and helped me up. "I ran into Selphie. She told me, okay? Now where's Quistis!"

"Selphie? You saw Selphie? Good. 'Cause I have an issue to settle with her." Seifer started to walk to the door, but Zell stood firmly and blocked his way. "Get out of my way."

"No. Why are you defending Quistis? She's a –"

"Say that word and I will personally teach you how to count your teeth, one by one." Seifer used his full height advantage over Zell. "Go ask Selphie what the fuck she had done to Quistis, and then come back and talk to me."

"What had she done to Quistis?" My blood ran cold. Neglecting the dizziness in my head, I quickly walked up to Seifer. "Seifer!" I grabbed his arm. "I _know_ you know. Tell me, please!"

Okay, that was the first time I begged. When had you ever heard Irvine Kinneas falling on his knees? But I was close to at that point. I cared about Quistis, and at the moment she was the only thing on my mind. I didn't care if I had to kiss Seifer's boot; I wanted to know.

"Oh, the two-timing slime want to know about his other half," Zell mumbled. I stared him, getting angry. I don't give a damn what you call me, but do _not_ insult Quistis. She didn't do anything. Not a thing.

"I'm gonna shut that fucking mouth of yours for good –" Seifer swung his fist around. Just before it collided with Zell's ducking head, Squall grabbed Seifer with both hands.

"Seifer! Seifer! Calm down! Whoa!" Squall dragged Seifer away. "Beating up Zell won't solve anything."

"Seifer." I still needed an answer.

"Would people just stop saying my name? I heard it enough times." Seifer seethed. "Quistis told me not to. Especially to you, Irvine. I don't want to –"

"Then stop telling us abo –" Zell started.

"_Shut up_!" All three of us said simultaneously. Zell flinched. Then he grumbled to himself and stayed quiet, with arms folded tightly around his chest.

Seifer gave me a look. He gave up finally and sighed. "She's with Matron. Anything else, ask her when you get there."

"Thank you," I spun on my heels, headed toward the door.

"Irvine." Seifer suddenly called.

I paused, but didn't turn around. I could feel the expression on his face, though. "Uh, nevermind. Go."

I smiled to myself. I knew exactly what he wanted to say. But he's Seifer, and Seifer won't allow himself to say it.

"Wait," Squall's smooth voice cut in. "how do you plan to get there?"

"By boat," I answered. What other way there is?

"Here," Feet shuffled behind me and a bottle of Elixir was put into my hand, along with some Gils. "Take this. And take care."

I turned sideways to face Squall. A smile formed on my face. Squall reached over and wiped the blood off from my lips. I placed a light kiss on his lingering fingertip, adjusted my hat, and walked out the door. Pushing Zell away from the doorframe, of course.

* * *


	7. Part IV: Turmoils (A)

**

* * *

**

Barbed Wire

Part IV: Turmoils

**Selphie:**

"You did WHAT!"

I jumped up from the bed and landed on my feet. Mai's eyes were huge and her voice shook. She was staring at me fiercely like I'm some kind of moron.

"What? Whatcha screaming for?" I shouted back.

"Wh – You! YOU! Selphie, what is wrong with you?" Mai paced up and down the room, her hands covering her eyes. "You used Pain and Meltdown together with a Firaga! A Firaga! You moron!"

"I am not a MORON!" Shut up! Shut up! "Stop yelling at me because –"

"I KILLED A FUCKING BLUE DRAGON WITH THAT. _A BLUE DRAGON!" _

"Your point!" Something quivered in my heart. Stop it.

"AND I DID NOT EVEN MIX A FIRAGA INTO IT. I used my limit break, and you know how sucky my limit break is! YOU THROWN IN A FIRAGA!"

"Shut up!"

"AND YOU USED IT ON A PERSON! A _PERSON_!"

"SHUT UP!" I covered my ears. "SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP!"

"NO. I am NOT going to because you know what, she's dead. I promise to Almighty God she's dead. AND YOU KILLED HER!"

"I did not! I did not! No!" Tears flowed down my face again. I hastily wiped them up, but they wouldn't stop. I did not kill Quistis. Please, I didn't! "I – I didn't mean to! She deserved it, didn't she? I didn't mean to. I really didn't!"

"Jamaica, you crazy lunatic, stop yelling at Selphie and sit down!" Jen crashed into the room and yanked Mai back from me. Someone's arms wrapped around me. I looked up. Matt's.

It felt familiar. Zell was holding me just like this a couple of minutes ago. He brought me back to the Garden, took me to my dorm, and left. I had no idea where he went. But it made me . . . content and happy. Until Mai came in. She saw me crying first, then asked what happened. I told her. And then she just, kinda, went off. Never had I seen Mai jump up like that. It's scary.

"Me crazy? Ha ha. Me crazy? I didn't use Pain and Meltdown and FIRAGA on someone. Me crazy? Our dear sweet Selphie here just –"

"We know, okay? Good God, we heard you from the hallway!" Jen furrowed her eyebrows. "What are you so psyched up about?"

Mai gave Jen the most disbelievingly look ever. "You're not at all concerned for the life of another human being?"

"She's probably not dead. And even if she dies, well, okay, I don't want her to die. But, you know, still. She deserves exactly what she got."

Mai's eyes were even bigger and her mouth dropped open. My own ears perked up. Jen! How could she say that! That's so mean and it's a bummer that one of my closest friends could say that.

"Yeah," Matt agreed behind me. "And that cowboy deserves what he got, too."

My Irvy? What happened to him? I looked at Matt questioningly. He just shook his head. Hmm. I don't care. Yeah, he's, yeah, I don't care what happened to him. Really.

Steve didn't say a single thing. He just sat quietly down on a chair in the corner and watched us. Mai looked back and forth between Jen and Matt. Her eyes narrowed.

"You know, you two are pathetic. And mean. And selfish to a fault!" Mai suddenly burst out, pointing to both of them. "Jen, I know why you're so mean to Quistis. She's the strong, independent woman leader type around here, and that undermines your authority by a notch, doesn't it? You don't like her because she's just as strong as you, both in skill and in position. And also, your 'tall, dark, and handsome' fell in love with her. Yeah, sure you stood a chance when he broke up with Selphie here, no offense, Selph, but you don't now! Ha! So you're just jealous and fuming and you like it when she got hurt. Which brings me to you, Jocifer. Selph, update check, Jocifer likes you. He liked you since we were about, I don't know, 14? Oh, well, whatever! He doesn't like your ex when he wasn't your ex and he sure as hell doesn't like him now that he cheated on you with the person that Jen hates the most around here. So both of you two crazy selfish lunatics want some sort of revenge. Yeah, I know, we're all human and it's normal. Well, guess what? I am fed up with your so called _normal_ behavior and _normal_ reactions. I don't think we should've beaten up Irvine simply because he's in love with someone and out of love, or had never been in love in the first place, with one of our closest friends, no offense again, Selph. And while I understand you, Selphie, might slipped and mixed all those magic together and seriously wounded Quistis, I will not take you two, yeah, you two crazy lunatics' crazy reactions, or lack of reactions, when I said Quistis may be dead. Okay? And one last thing, Jeep, stop being so freaking homophobic, okay? Yeah, I noticed how you just stopped talking and looking at all the Balamb people once you saw the Headmaster and that other guy on the dance floor, kissing. Big deal! They're nice. Actually, I find all of them nice and frankly, like to be friends with them. Do I make myself clear?"

She caught a breath.

We all gaped.

Matt likes me?

Mai rolled her eyes. She then stomped to the door. Her hand touched the door handle.

"Jamaica!"

Matt's voice stopped her. "What?" She retorted without turning around.

"You can't go."

"Why not?"

"Because we've sworn," he then added quietly. "And we're family."

Sworn? Family? What? I was lost. How come I wasn't in on this?

"Hey, what're you guys talking about? Sworn? Sworn on what?" I ducked out of Matt's arm and walked to tap Mai on the shoulder. She just stood there, staring at the blank door.

"Selphie, it's . . . kind of hard to explain." Jen's voice rang behind me. "We're . . . not exactly just a band. You know how many SeeD missions we get over there in the snowy mountains, pretty much the middle of nowhere. The restoration of Trabia used up a lot of funds. We need to support ourselves."

Uh-huh. "So? You mean, you have other jobs besides singing and SeeD missions?"

She nodded.

Oh. No biggie. "Okay. What's wrong with that?"

"Heh heh," Steve laughed coldly. "Well, Selph, the jobs, they aren't . . .."

"They aren't clean." Matt said finally.

They aren't clean? As in . . . Ohmigoodness, oh mi goodness! "Eek! You . . . You guys! YOU GUYS! Why didn't you ever tell me stuff like this? I mean, that's dangerous! And bad!"

"Well, we gotta make a living somehow!" Steve stood up. "Mai." He then said softly.

Mai looked at him. Steve walked up to her and wrapped her in a hug. She clung to him, and muffled a cry. He didn't let her go.

"We sworn on a mountain near Shumi Village," Jen continued to explain. "We will never betray another one in the group. We're family. We're orphans; all we had was each other. You understand that, Selph. Why do you think so many people left Trabia and came to Balamb and Galbadia? We're running low on everything. The Garden has absolutely no money left to support us. Selph, we can't trust anyone outside the circle for fear of being caught, so we don't. "

"Why didn't you ask any of us?" They could've asked Balamb and I'm sure Squall'll lend them something. We had plenty of SeeD missions. Galbadia had even more.

"That's another objective of ours when we came here. But no, y'all ruined it now. You think the Headmaster'll lend us money after we . . ." Mai said and wiped away a stray tear.

"Trabia people are not beggars," Matt said gruffly. "We do what we have to do. But we won't ask for charity."

"Selphie, now you know the truth, swear." Jen extended her hand to me.

"Swear what?" I frowned.

"Swear you will not tell anyone what's going on. Swear on your life, your friend's life, and all of your afterlives."

That's kinda harsh. "Um, I'll swear for me, but anyone else I can't say."

"Swear it!" Jen grew impatient.

"Okay, okay. I swear."

* * *

**Rinoa:**

_Rrrriiiinngggg! _

I leapt up and fell on the hard train floor. I yanked the phone out from my bag and answered it. It was Mrs. Pratt.

"Rinoa. Where are you right now?" A panic infused in her voice.

"I'm a few minutes away from Balamb. Why? What's wrong?"

"Oh, good. You still have time. The Galbadians are on the move. A swarm of them just got here a couple of minutes ago. They locked down the city and blocked the airwave. This is the only phone I can call you with. I guess they don't want any information to leak out. No one's allowed to leave!"

My gosh, it's like that last time at Balamb! "Are you serious? Are you going to be okay?"

"Don't worry about me, dear. By the way, Ryan's here."

"What? I thought he's at Garden."

"He came after you. He was going to head to DC, but he got stuck here at Dollet. I can't make him come to the phone. It'll be too suspicious. Just get to Balamb Garden in time. Don't let the Squall boy get caught by surprise."

"Yes m'am." I mock saluted, even though she couldn't see me. "Um, how long until they get here, you think?"

"I don't know. From this speed, I say in less than six hours. Don't let your mind slip; that's barely enough time if you're preparing for a major invasion. And from my front door, it looks more than major."

I smiled. "Yes, Mrs. Pratt. I'm not slipping. That man has gone psycho, that's what's wrong with him. I will make sure Squall gets ready."

"Good, dear. Oh, did you hear anything from your father about Scan?"

Huh? Scan? The magic Scan or what? "Um, no. Why?"

"I just overheard some soldiers mumbling something about the new Scan and laughing. Mention this to the Squall boy, it may be some new weapon they conjured up. You know them Galbadians."

Yes, I do. That man was the leader. That's enough already.

"Okay, I will. You be careful, too. Thanks."

"Bye, dear. Good luck."

"Bye."

I closed the phone. Just then the train began to slow down. Less than six hours. Well, they're gonna be okay. Because the last time we fought those Galbadian soldiers, we had like, minutes to prepare. This time it'd be a piece of cake. Well, true, we didn't fight exactly the entire G-Army back then, just the G-Garden people. And that man did not meet some weird scientists and enhanced the entire army with excellent armors and other advanced technologies. And Galbadia was not nicknamed "Military Center of the World" back then and lived up to that name. But, still, it'd a piece of cake. Yeah. Sure.

I looked at my watch. It was 4:07 a.m. I grabbed my trusty duffel bag and hopped off the train, taking time to adjust my eye to the familiar Balamb Station. Being cooped up in that man's house was enough for me to miss this place, too.

Garden, right. I walked quickly toward the gate and rented a car. I got in and pushed hard on the gas pedal. We're gonna need every single second.

Several minutes later, I was staring at the white glow of the ring on top of Balamb Garden. It looked so peaceful. I would not let it get destroyed by that man. With that woman.

I drove the car into the Parking Lot and made my way into the main hall. No one was there; duh, it's still middle of the night. I zoomed straight toward the Dormitory. Squall's door was two down from the last one on the left. And Seifer's was a couple doors down on the right. I had a feeling they're both in one room, though. Which one, hmm, that depends on my luck.

_Knock knock knock. _

No answer.

Come on, Squall! This isn't funny. This is serious!

"Squall, it's me. Open up, I have something urgent to tell you."

The lock clicked and the door opened. Squall stood there only in his sleep pants. He didn't look like he just woke up, though. There's a hickey on his neck.

Heh, I wonder what's he been doing.

"I see you're back. Jumped out a window again?" Ugh, Meanie.

"Can I come in?" I put my hand on my hip.

He held the door open and I slid inside. Seifer was sitting on the bed, also just in his sleep pants. His eyes narrowed when he saw me. "What are you doing back? Thought you said you're locked up."

"Gee, thanks. I came here to tell you that the entire Galbadian army is coming this way to kill this place and you're giving me stupid attitude."

"What?" Squall's voice tilted.

"Yeah. You heard me."

"He's really sending them after you?" Seifer's voice was bewildered, too.

I rolled my eyes. "No, he doesn't care about me. He's just using that as an excuse so he can crush this place. Why? Ask him, I don't know. All I know is that they're already at Dollet."

"They're already at Dollet!" Seifer jumped away from the bed. "And _now_ you tell us? Now?"

"Well, excuse me, I need to get here. Train ride does take time, you know."

"You could've called," Squall sighed.

Oh. Right.

"Well," my cheeks flushed a little. "I didn't, okay? I didn't know about it until I got to Timber. Okay? So, so hush."

"Yeah, uh-huh." Seifer snickered. He walked to the other side of the room and picked up his trenchcoat from a chair. "I'll meet you back here in a couple of minutes."

"Get Zell on the way," Squall said.

"Sure." Seifer opened the door and left. Squall went to his wardrobe and got out his usual fighting gear. I shifted my weight. He paused and gave me a look.

"Do you mind?"

"Squall, come on. I was your girlfriend."

He lightly scoffed. Then he shook his head and walked into the bathroom. I plopped down on his bed. Ooh, comfy. How come his bed was so much nicer than the rest of the Gardens?

The door opened again. Zell came in, looking like he was still asleep, surveyed the room, and skidded to a halt when he saw me. "R-Rinoa? Whoa, what're you doing back?"

"Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention. She's the one that told us." Seifer smirked. I glared at him. Zell gave me a frown. Okay, and why was I so unwelcomed here now?

Squall emerged from the bathroom fully dressed. "Let's go to my office."

"Why didn't you just tell us to meet at your office in the first place?" Zell tilted his head. "Easier."

"Are you okay?" Squall ignored him and asked me quietly.

Why shouldn't I be . . . oh, the baby. "Yeah. I feel fine. A baby is not going to stop me from doing anything. At least not this soon."

"That's good to hear," Squall replied. "Because I may need you to do some fighting once they get here. I'm missing two of my best warriors and all. Maybe three." He laughed ironically.

Uh, what?

I looked quizzically at Seifer. He just shook his head, telling me not to ask. Okay. I won't. We walked to the elevator and then came up to the third floor.

Squall strode inside his office and walked to the PA system, a frown on his face. Then he changed his mind, turned around, and dropped in a chair. "How big is the army?"

"The entire army? It's pretty big." I answered.

"Approximately how many people?" His frown deepened.

"Man, why you so worried?" Zell stomp his foot. "I can take care of them myself if you give me hours to prepare!"

"Shut up, chicken wuss, this isn't two years ago." Seifer rolled his eyes. "They're much more advanced now. Squall, what do you plan to do?"

"I'm thinking. I'm thinking!" Squall snapped. He sighed. "Get Selphie in here."

"Selphie? Man, I don't think she's that willing –"

"Get her _in here_. Somebody!"

Seifer glared at Zell. He jerked his head toward the hallway, eyes narrowed. Zell looked at him, then slumped his shoulders, defeated. "All right, all right. I'm going."

This didn't look too good. At all.

* * *

**Zell:**

I scoffed as I walked back to the elevator. Man, Squall was getting really weird. And he's being an even more of an asshole than usual. And I still hadn't forgive him, them, for yelling at me.

After Irvine stormed off to find Quistis, I wanted to follow him and stop him. He had hurt Selphie! That's enough for me. He's gonna get it. But no, Headmaster Squall had to tell me to let it go. And stupid Seifer's agreeing and blaming _Selphie_. That's fair. Yeah, her boyfriend cheated on her and it's her fault, sure.

So I stumbled back into my room, checked on Selphie before I went to make sure she was okay by then. Her Junk Yard friends were there, too, so I wasn't worried after that. I hopped into bed around like, midnight or something. Well, four hours later I was up again. And it was nobody but Seifer who woke me. Yeah, don't talk about my grumpy mood.

There's Selphie's room. Knock knock.

"Who's there?" That wasn't Selphie, because it's a guy. Huh? A guy's sleeping in Selphie's room? Hey! Nobody sleeps in Selphie's room. Not without my permission! Um, wait, that didn't sound right. Oh hell.

"It's Zell! Who the heck are you?"

"Oh, k, hold on," The door slid open. There stood Jeep, and all the Junk Yard people were strewn around the room. They were all wide awake, odd. Selphie alone slept soundly until Jamaica shook her from the bed.

"What do you want?" Jen asked.

"Squall want to see Selphie. Uh, it's pretty important so I suggest we go now." I explained. Selphie rubbed her eyes and nodded.

"Yeah, sure, just let me wash my face first."

"What does he want?" Jen asked again. "If it's anything –"

"Look, Galbadian people are coming, okay? Just come up to the office!" I cried exasperatedly. "They're already on their way from Dollet."

Every single person in the room froze. Selphie was not rubbing her eyes. Jamaica and Jeep exchanged a glance. Jen was shocked. And Jocifer grinded his teeth.

"G-Galbadians? Why are they coming here?" Jeep sputtered.

"Because of Rinoa." I answered.

"Rinoa? Rinoa Heartilly, General Carraway's daughter?" Jen raised her eyebrows. "Selph, _that_ Rinoa?"

"Yeah, I told y'all about her." Selphie hopped off her bed.

"We didn't know it's _that_ Rinoa. Is she here or something?" Jen stood up.

"Yep," I nodded.

"Huh? I thought she's at Deling City. Didn't her father call her a couple of days ago?" Selphie looked at me.

"Yeah, she was, but then she called us and then . . . argh, I can't explain. Look, just come up and Squall'll explain everything. Come on."

"Uh-uh, we're coming, too!" Jamaica jumped up. "If it involves Galbadians, then we're not gonna just sit and watch this place get burned. We're not!" She gave Jen a stare.

"Is, is Irvine there?" Selphie asked timidly.

I shook my head. "He left. So did Quistis."

"Quistis? She's not dead! Great!" Jamaica clapped.

Dead? What? Why would she be . . . huh?

"Let's go, come on, isn't your great leader waiting?" Jocifer started to walk to the door. The others quickly followed. I was still confused. Dead?

I shook my head again. We all walked back to the elevator and started to go in Squall's office. His door was ajar. Jen was the first one in.

Seifer was sitting on the sofa in the room. Squall was standing, facing away from the door. Rinoa sat on the floor. They all turned their heads, and Seifer immediately stood up. Rinoa gasped.

"Don't bother throwing us out, 'cause we're staying." Jocifer crossed his arms.

"You – You . . ." Rinoa stammered. "Oh my god!"

"What?" Squall asked her. "What's wrong?"

"Squall, they're, they're criminals!"

"Hey!" Selphie stepped in. "You can't say that to my friends! Unless you got proof."

"I do have proof! A couple of months ago an important Galbadian official got assassinated. He was one of that man's friends, and I've seen him around once or twice. Well, he got killed, and from the partially destroyed camera clip, there were four people and he's one of them!" She pointed to Jocifer.

"I am not. Don't point random targets. I don't even know you."

"I know it's you! The official got stabbed in the back, and scientists analyzed the wound and other stuff, and drew a picture of the knife. And it's _that_ knife!" Rinoa pointed to the one in Jocifer's boots. "I _know_ it's that knife!"

Aha. "Ahhh, so that's why you guys insisted on coming." I said. That explained a lot.

Jen scoffed. "Ugh, whateva. That Galbadian official is as corrupt as corruption goes. He should die."

"You're assassins?" Squall narrowed his eyes.

"Yeah, so what?" Jen rolled her eyes. "So are you. And you ended up a hero for it. Isn't that what SeeDs do?"

Ooh. She shouldn't've said that. Squall's brows were knitted tightly once again. That kinda made me mad, too. Hey, I'm a SeeD and I ain't no assassin. "Um, no." I retorted.

"Wasn't talking to you," She said to my direction. Now waita minute –

"Uh, from what I gathered, there's a Galbadian army coming. Hello? Let's talk about that first." Jamaica drawled. "And by the way, why are they coming again? They can't just like, decide to show up just because. There's gotta be a reason for it or the people of the world will like, kill them."

Actually, I think they _can_ just show up. But Squall sighed and explained it all again. At last he added. "And that's why you saw Quistis and Irvine together that night, Jocifer. They weren't dating."

"They weren't!" Jamaica exclaimed suddenly. She spun to face Selphie. "Then, wait, then he wasn't cheating on you! So it's all normal clean relationship sequence! Oh, no, oh, no, do not tell me that you just almost killed Quistis and it wasn't even –"

"Shut up and drop it, Jamaica! Jesus Christ!" Jocifer bellowed. Whoa. He's ticked off. Jamaica looked at him harshly. But hold on, _that's_ why Selphie said they cheated on her? Then they so didn't cheat on her. So then, why did Irvine take my beating without explaining? Why didn't he say anything, period? But I had to make sure. They could've done it before.

"So they weren't ever dating?" I asked. I heard Jen snicker. Jamaica threw up her hands in exasperation and sat down on another chair.

Seifer gave me a look. "Weren't you there, chicken-wuss?"

"No, I wasn't talking about that night. I was talking before. They weren't cheating on Selphie before?"

"No shit, dumbass. Would Quistis be that depressed if she's with Irvine?"

Wait a minute, how did he know she's depressed. I couldn't tell until she told me in person. Well, I could tell a little, but this was Seifer we're talking about here! He never notices stuff like this. He's incapable of it! "How did you know she's depressed?"

Seifer just stare at me with the I-so-don't-believe-you-just-asked-me-that expression. "Not everyone is as dense as you, chicken."

"Stop calling him that," Squall said quietly. Seifer widened his eyes. Heh, take that!

"And not everyone is as light as you," Someone mumbled from the far corner. The comment was directed at Seifer. He looked up, and saw Jeep.

Something was definitely wrong with this guy. He was kinda wrapping himself in a hug and leaning against the wall. No, he looked like he wanted to disappear _into_ the wall. He was even trembling a little bit. Dude, he looked scared as hell. Of what? Of Seifer? Naw. If they're assassins, they shouldn't be afraid anything let alone a person.

Seifer cocked his head and walked up to Jeep. Uh-oh, that didn't look good. Jen started to stop him, but he pushed her away with one hand and she crashed into the side table. She looked pretty furious, but Rinoa stopped her before anything happened. Seifer stared at Jeep, who crouched even more.

"You scared of me?" He asked after a while.

"_No_, I'm not scared of _you_." Jeep spitted back. I crossed my arms and watched.

Seifer's eyes went down to Jeep's toes then back to his face again. "You scared of me and Squall." More of a statement than a question. Jeep said nothing.

"Leave him the fuck alone!" Jen suddenly exclaimed. She advanced at Seifer. Even though I'm not fond of Seifer much, or him and Squall, okay, they both disgust me to a degree, I still didn't want some other people to seriously injure him just because they're together. So I grabbed Jen's hand. Damn, this girl strong!

_Whoosh. _A flash of silverThen _slash!

* * *

_

**Squall:**

Seifer turned his head just in time when the blade flashed past his face. The knife spun around again and landed back in Jocifer's hand. I saw a drop of blood landed on the floor, next to Jamaica's feet. She was staring at Seifer, eyes wide.

Was he okay?

Seifer spun around to face Jocifer. I cringed when I saw that there was a large gash on the left side of his face. Blood was dripping from it freely. He and Jocifer stared at each other, saying things through the eyes that we didn't want to hear. I breathed a sigh of relief that he only suffered skin injury, and not lose an eye, for I was pretty sure that's what Jocifer aiming for.

Then, he reached up to his face and wiped the wound with his hand. The blood stained his palms red. He looked at it for a second, then licked his hand. The blood rolled over his lips, past his tongue, and he swallowed it.

I heard Rinoa and Selphie gasp. Jamaica was still wide-eyed. The rest of them all had disgusted expressions, including Jocifer. I alone remained still. I've seen worse. Seifer and I spar frequently. He always pulls stunts like that just to get to me.

Seifer turned his vision to my direction. He smirked at the death-quiet room, then walked up to me, and gave me a light kiss. Light enough to be casual, but still adequate to pass me the blood from his lips. Then he sat back down on the sofa, not saying a word. He knew me too well. I licked my lips, tasting the sweetness, and began quietly.

"Look, I know none of us wants to be in this room right now. And we certainly don't want to discuss anything together. But we have no choice. The entire Galbadian army is coming, and to say you don't know what that means would be an insult to your intelligence. Whatever their reason is, Gen. Carraway and his people are coming to crush Balamb Garden. It's too late to run. They blocked off cities and probably had us surrounded in a big circle already. We have nowhere to run. Now, due to various reasons, I don't care what they are, but I _am_ missing two of my best fighters. I need every hand I could get. Plus, when the Galbadians found you here, they'd undoubtedly kill you or take you prisoner, as for probably the rest of us." I swallowed. "We have our differences, but, I need your help. For all of our sakes."

I watched the entire room. Selphie smiled at me. This must've been tearing her apart, watching her friends fighting each other. She looked relieved. I didn't hate her to the degree that Seifer did. Perhaps it was because I wasn't there when it happened. To get Seifer to dislike someone like this in an instant would have to take a very impressive instant. I missed it, therefore I wasn't that furious.

Jen and Jocifer exchanged a glance. Neither said anything. Good. At least they didn't shout in disagreement or storm out the room. Rinoa stood up and saluted. Zell followed. Then Selphie. The other four didn't move. Seifer still sat. His eyes on me.

Jeep stirred. He turned his face and gazed into my eyes. Then he straightened, his expression serious, and saluted. The other three stared at him. He didn't flinch and never moved his gaze. Jamaica grinned. She hopped up from her seat and saluted to me, her face broke into a wide smile.

Jen scoffed. "I'm not gonna salute you, Squall, but you're right on some things. Just don't order me to do stupid crap. And I am still sticking with my crew."

Fair enough. We were all looking at Jocifer. He grumbled. I took that as a yes, for he could've said no easily. I let out another sigh of relief. At least I have a team now. A pretty powerful team, in fact. Selphie had informed me the Junk Yard's fighting ability many times before.

"Well, what are we going to do?" Rinoa asked. Back to the original topic that got left behind hours ago. "They're coming closer."

I looked out the window at the fully risen sun. It was probably 6:00 already. I put my fingers to the bridge of my nose. "I'll figure this out. Um, go get ready. Sharpen your weapons and junction your magic. I'll announce the battle plan in a few minutes."

"In a few minutes? You sure that's enough?" Zell asked. He took everything literally.

"No, idiot, it's a figure of speech." Seifer retorted. "Go wash your gloves. It still got Kinneas' blood on it."

"What?" Selphie stared at Zell. He fumbled around for words, when finding none, darted out the door. "Hey, waitaminute!" She followed.

"Okay, people, let's go." Jen pointed to the doorway with her hands. The Junk Yard disappeared. Rinoa looked at me.

"Squall, can I request something?"

"Yes."

"I request to be not put on the same team as that guy with the knife or that blonde girl. The other two, I don't care that much, but I still prefer not. I mean, they're still the most wanted in Deling City and I'm just not sure I'd like to be seen with them."

She didn't want to fight her father with people who murdered her father's right hand. I read it in the news. The assassinated official was as loyal to Carraway as he could be, which probably led him to a life of wrong choices. No, _only_ choices. "Of course."

"Thanks. Um, I'll be going then." She backed out the doorway and closed the door behind her.

It's just me and Seifer now.

I dropped my calm façade and slumped on the sofa, next to him. I buried my face in my hands. The dull headache that I had been deliberately ignoring blared in my temples and the back of my head. I had no idea what I was going to do. Nothing.

"Come here," he said softly. I looked at him, at his outstretched hand. I moved over and lay down on my back with my head on his chest. The rise and fall of his breathing calmed me down a bit.

"Why would they come now?" He said into my hair. "I mean, the Galbadians had enough power to crush this place before. Why _now_? They're not at their peak, and we're certainly not at our lowest. Did they find out something new about us that renewed their interest?"

"Yeah, the Junk Yard."

"I really doubt that. They could use that as a cover-up, but as the true reason it's kind of off."

I shrugged. "Maybe it's just convenient. With Rinoa and all."

"No. From the look of this, Carraway did not just decide, okay I'm going to get my daughter back. He's been planning this for a while. To move the entire army is not an easy job. I would know. Plus, didn't he call Rinoa in the first place? He planned this. What do we have that's worth him getting?"

"We have noth –"

I stopped. My vision blurred then sharpened. I jolted up, startling both Seifer and myself. "Shit."

"What?"

"Shit!" I stood up and started pacing. It had to be that. But it couldn't, but it had to be! "We should, uh, divide the SeeDs up into several groups. Then place them in layers around the Garden. If one layer's broken, then the remaining SeeDs would meet up with the ones from the next layer. That way the Galbadians would meet more and more resistance on their way in."

"What about us?"

"You. I think the Junk Yard should be placed in second floor classrooms. I think I'll put Rinoa there too. No, wait, she specified not to. Should I make her take care of the junior classmen then?"

"Yeah. I don't think the soldiers would not recognize their general's daughter. She'd be okay."

With the baby and all. I still needed to take responsibility for Ryan. "Zell, Selphie, and you will be here, third floor hallway."

"Third floor hallway? Shouldn't we be the first in line –"

_Ding Dong_.

We both looked at the intercom. I answered. "Yes?"

"Squall? This is Dr. Kadowaki. Have you seen Quistis?"

Quistis? "Uh, she's not here right now. What's wrong?"

"She has the condensed Hero potion. I need to give that to Mrs. Dincht now."

Quistis had the Hero potion? How did that end up in her hands? "Why does she have it?"

"Xu had given it to her when she couldn't find me. I had thought I needed to give it to Mrs. Dincht last night, but then I realized it might clash with some of other medicines that I gave her. So I waited until this morning. I thought Xu had it all along. She said Quistis got it last night at the party."

"Okay, doctor. I think it'd be impossible to find Quistis soon, so I'll see what I can do. When do you absolutely need it?"

"Oh. Well, it's more helping medicine. I need it before this week ends, though."

That could be managed. "Don't tell Zell this, please. He may flip."

She chuckled. "No, I won't. Out."

I hung up. Seifer had an odd look. "Squall, I think the Heroes got used up during that explosion."

"You mean . . ."

He nodded. Then it dawned on me what that meant. If Quistis had not had the Heroes on her . . .

I shook my head. Then I thought some more, and extended my hand to Seifer. "Give me the phone. I have to call my dad."

He reached into his pocket and took out the communication device. He wavered before he handed it to me. "Squall, they aren't just coming to kill the Garden, are they?"

He realized it. I shook my head.

"So," he paused, "what's their target?"

I looked at him and smiled. Completely without mirth.

"Me."

* * *


	8. Part IV: Turmoils (B)

**

* * *

**

Barbed Wire

Part IV: Turmoils

**Quistis:**

The serene sea gently lapped at the golden sand. I stared out the window of the old orphanage, drinking it all in. I could hear Sis busying with a bowl of warm water. Matron and Cid were out in the back, probably discussing the situation. My situation.

I looked down at myself. Thick bandages wrapped around my chest, restricting my breasts and binding my movement. Matron cut my hair short. It used to reach the middle of my back; now it grazed my shoulders. The excess had been charred to an ashy black and therefore would've fallen off anyway. Bandages ran down my arms. I felt no pain now, thanks to the various Curaga and Regen magics. Matron had praised the gods for my good fortune with the bag of condensed Heroes. If that bag had not ruptured on me during the explosion, I'd be lying in a tomb right now. The effect reduced my injuries to half of what it could be. I felt fine now. Sometimes dizziness would attack, but then it would disappear as quickly as it came.

I took a deep breath and continued to stare at the ocean. I was worrying about Mrs. Dincht. Hopefully the Heroes would be only supplementary to her. And hopefully Zell wouldn't kill me if he finds out. _If_ he finds out.

"The sun's going to set soon," Sis's voice sounded crisply behind me.

I didn't say anything. After they bandaged me, I fell asleep and didn't wake up until well past noon. By then Fujin had left. She was still needed in Esthar, so she took an afternoon boat and rode back. The Ragnarok was still here, though.

"What time is it?" I asked absentmindedly.

"Almost five o'clock. You've been standing there all afternoon." Sis walked behind me and put a hand on my shoulder. "It's time to change the medicine."

I nodded and turned from the shimmering sand and the low sun. I sat down on the bed and started to undress. That was when I saw a figure appear in the doorway.

"Quistis," he breathed.

I gasped and felt my own breath hitch. Our gaze met for a brief second. It burnt. I quickly looked away.

Sis smiled warmly. "Irvine. Seifer said you'd be coming." She went over and gave him a hug. He returned it and grinned.

"Did Seifer call you?" He strolled into the room.

"No. He told Fujin to tell me when she brought Quisty here. He just said you'd be coming very soon. And here you are. Did you greet Matron?"

"Yes. She let me in." His grin broadened as he pondered about what Sis just said. I wrapped the shirt around me and stood up. I walked quickly toward the door.

"Excuse me," I said as I attempted to slide past Irvine. He blocked me easily with his arm.

"Whoa, where ya going, miss? I just got here."

I gave him a look. I threw off his arm and turned around. If he wouldn't let me leave, fine. I would simply sit on the bed and ignore his presence.

I heard Sis whisper something to him. Then she left the room and closed the door. From his footsteps I knew he was approaching me. He picked up the bowl of water and moved directly behind me. "Come on, girl, you need to get your bandages changed."

"Not your business,"

"Well, I'm making it my business. Let's go." He walked to the drawers and retrieved all the aids and drew some magic.

I just wrapped the shirt tighter around myself.

"Aw, Quistis, please. We don't have all day –" Suddenly he started coughing violently. I turned my head quickly, just in time to see blood seep through the fingers as he covered his mouth with his hand.

"What happened to you?" I jumped up. He just shook his head. The smile didn't disappear from his face.

"It's nothing. Squall gave me this Elixir thing, right? Well, I thought you might need it more, judging from Seifer's attitude. Now I get here and you don't seem that badly off. So maybe I should drink this now, if you don't mind." He retrieved the Elixir he was talking about from his coat pocket.

"You idiot!" I beat on his arm with my fists. "Why didn't you drink this when Squall gave it to you! Idiot!" He was so stupid. He didn't need to . . . oh God, what was I going to do with him? He could've had the Elixir twenty hours ago. I picked up a cotton ball from the table and started to wipe the blood from his hands and his neck.

He caught my hand. Slowly, he led me back to the bed and sat down with me. His eyes never left my face. I brought the Elixir to his lips. "Drink this."

"I drink this, you promise me you'll get the bandages changed."

Such a bad bargain. I sighed. "Fine."

He grinned again and drank the potion in one gulp. I shook my head in disapproval. He then stood up and brought all the supplies to the bed. "Turn around, honey." Seeing the look I gave him, he added. "Unless you don't mind. It's fine by me either way."

I scoffed. Rolling my eyes, I turned my back to him and let go of the shirt. He slipped it off. I heard him took in a breath. Astounded by amount of white strips I bore, probably.

He slowly removed the bandages from my torso. Then he moved to my arms and unwrapped the cloth there. I frowned. "How are you going to heal me if you're facing my back? My wounds aren't on my back."

"There's a way, don't worry." I didn't believe that. "'Course, it'd be much easier if you face me, but . . . well, it's up to you. And look, if you really don't want me here, I'll just go call Sis."

Something crept into his voice. It's so rare to hear it from him. The great Casanova. The player. Everyone I knew seen him as the bootyhound. Now he sounded so . . . respectful. And caring. Almost as if . . .

"No," I heard myself say. "Stay." My voice was so quiet that I thought he didn't hear me.

He did.

I took in a light breath, then turned my head to meet his eyes. The indigo showed now signs of desire, only sincerity. I turned my torso toward him. I started to wrap my arms around my chest, but decided not to. What's the point?

His eyes widened slightly at the injury. I didn't blame him; I was taken aback when I first saw myself in the mirror. There were slashes of red everywhere, some turned permanently black. My arms were decorated with burnt marks. Any skin below my collarbone all had a yellowish tinge. It looked quite ghastly. His brows knitted – the first time I've ever seen Irvine Kinneas in a harsh frown. He swallowed.

"She did this?" He whispered.

I nodded. I didn't blame her then, I still don't blame her now.

"Permanent scars?" Another whisper.

I nodded again.

He looked away for a second. I swear I saw something shiny in his eyes, but he blinked them away quickly. Then he started casting magic on me.

Chilly wind wrapped around me as the Curaga worked. I felt some of the remaining blood clotted and scabbed. Then a Remedy tuned out some leftover poison. After he's done, there were black spots all over me. Needed to wash that off. I was too weak to cast these simple things myself before.

He wetted a towel and handed it to me. I wiped off the spots of debris and dried myself. I felt some strength returning. He then gave me another bottle of Elixir as he retrieved the rows of medicated bandages.

I turned around again and drank the Elixir quietly. We didn't speak. All I felt was the strips of cloth wrapping around me. His hand never touched my skin, but the bandages were neither loose nor tight. I wondered how he managed that.

It was not until I buttoned my shirt and he cleaned up the place did Irvine touch me. I felt his arm around my waist and his lips on my neck. His breath traveled gradually up to my chin. Then he spun me around in his embrace and started kissing my jawbone.

My breaths became short and fast as my eyes closed. I wrapped my arms around his neck as our lips met. His lips were soft and warm. I melted against him, and everything around us faded away. The heat surged in my throat and softened my body pleasantly. He felt so nice. So . . . what was this feeling? I couldn't describe it. But it made me want to smile. I wanted to laugh out loud. Hadn't felt that for a long time.

Our kiss ended with us staring into each other's eyes again. I could hear the rapid beating of his heart. Or was it my own heart? I didn't let go of him, and neither did he me.

A light knock on the wooden door brought us back to the present world. Irvine turned his gaze toward the wooden frame. "Yes?"

"Hey, you two," It's Sis. "Uncle Laguna called. He said it's an emergency involving Balamb Garden. Matron and Cid want to see you in the living room right now."

Irvine and I exchanged a glance. We quickly went to the door, opened it, and followed Sis out. Matron and Cid were sitting there with _the_ gravest expression on their faces.

* * *

**Irvine:**

"The Garden's under attack? Since when?" I exclaimed. Nobody told me about this! Well, I was stuck on a ship in the middle of ocean for twenty hours, but that's no excuse.

"Laguna called around 2:30." Matron replied. Quistis raised her eyebrows. "We just didn't have the hearts to tell you, with your injury and all."

"You should've." She looked distraught. "Why are they attacking? It couldn't have been because of Rinoa."

She's right. It couldn't have been. "I think they're just there to crush Balamb. Long held grudges, I guess."

"We heard from several sources that it's because Balamb is protecting some most-wanted criminals. And also because of Carraway's daughter. But I think those're just cover-ups." Cid explained.

"Cover-ups for what? Crushing the Garden?" Quistis asked.

_Bling_.

"No," Cid answered the videophone on the table. Laguna's face showed up. He looked very worried.

"Oh, good, you're here." After a pause. "They're in."

Matron gasped. Cid didn't speak for several seconds. Laguna turned and saw me and Quistis. "Oh, great. You two are here, too. Is the Ragnorak there with you?"

I nodded. "You want me to fly it back to Esthar?"

"Uh, Cid?" Laguna scratched his head. "You wanna come to Esthar or we'll talk here?"

"We have no time to go there now that they're in." Matron answered for Cid. "We'll figure out a plan and we'll call you back in a few minutes."

"Sure, then." Laguna said. "Ow ow, my leg. I'm out!" He twisted but managed to turn off the vidphone. Laguna and his cramps. It's ridiculous.

"Okay, what's going on?" I turned to Matron. "Tell us everything. We have the right to know."

Matron sighed. She looked at Cid, who nodded. "All right. I think you already figure out the Galbadians are there to get something. Or to be more precise, Carraway is there to get something." She glanced at Cid again. "There is an object that only few people on Earth knew existed before somehow the information leaked out to Carraway. It's called an Energy Orb, made and refined from thousands of Energy Crystals hundreds of years ago. Whoever has the Orb in his hands will, I repeat, _will_ become the most powerful man in the world, maybe the entire galaxy."

"How so?" Quistis asked.

"The Energy Orb can convert anything into pure energy, including air molecules. In other words, one who holds it can change whatever they want into a powerful weapon that can destroy everything."

"Everything?" said I.

Matron nodded. Cid continued after her. "Laguna and Kiros stumbled on it while they're exploring a deserted region in Esthar. Since the Orb can easily corrupt whoever has it, Kiros suggest not keeping it in Esthar but hiding it somewhere discreet and safe. They called me and Edea, said we should keep it in Centra. I disagreed. We need someone capable of protecting it if and when it's discovered. Edea and I could not protect it well, so we called Squall. He said he'd keep it in Balamb Garden, and we all trust him enough to know he'd never use it."

"So somehow Carraway found out and that's why he's heading to Garden. Not to crush it but to find the Orb. He doesn't need to bring the entire army there, though." I speculated.

"Yes, he has to. He wants to make sure the Garden is under his control and no mistakes are allowed." Matron said. "For the Energy Orb, he is willing to kill everyone in Garden if he is left with no other option."

"Would he . . . kill Squall first?" Quistis' voice shook a little.

Matron sighed again. Her tone clearly devastated. "No. Squall is the only one who knows where the Orb is. He hid it himself. No one else knows, not even us. And Carraway clearly realizes that. He will try everything to pry the information from Squall. Absolutely everything."

"Whoa, then why are we sitting around here! We need to go help!" I jumped up. I didn't like the sound of her last sentence. I _really_ didn't like it.

Quistis pulled me back down on the chair. "Irvine, sit down. How are we going to help? The Esthar soldiers are all blocked off by the Galbadian soldiers by the coast. _They_ couldn't even penetrate the Galbadians, how could we?"

"Actually, you two can." Cid adjusted his glasses. My ears perked up. We could?

"When I designed the Garden, I was prepared for a total invasion one day, so I left a back-up system." Cid folded his hands on the table. "Once triggered, it will release a poisonous gas to all the floors in Garden, including the deck and the basement, and will kill anyone. No armor or protection or any junction will defend against it. It's basically a suicide purging, but sometimes those things are necessary." He paused. "Like now."

"But, the students are all in there." Quistis protested. Yeah, we couldn't just kill everyone. That defeats the purpose of "help."

Cid shook his head. "Knowing Carraway, or any invaders of the Garden, they probably use the MD level as a prison and hoard everyone in there. Or they would use the classrooms. The gas will not reach MD level, so whoever's down there will be fine. The reason Esthar soldiers couldn't penetrate is because the Galbadians are using the Garden against them. Once the Garden comes back to our control, the Estharians could easily take over."

"How do we know they're all down in MD?" I asked. I wasn't even sure Carraway _knew_ there's an MD level.

"We don't. That's where you two come in. You need to get inside and help whoever is stuck on the other four floors escape, if you can. The trigger for the poison gas is in the Dormitory, Room number 148. It can only be activated with a key, here it is." Cid handed Quistis a rusty, ordinary-looking key. "A door will open beside it, leading immediately outside. It will be a few minutes before the gas reach that room, because I especially padded the room's door."

"How are we going to get inside the Garden?" asked Quistis. "There're Galbadians everywhere."

"There's an underground passage from the Fire Cavern." Matron explained. "It leads to the MD level. You can travel to other floors using the elevator shaft."

"Wait, if this is so well planned out, why didn't the Esthar people just go in from Fire Cavern?" I was kinda confused. It would've saved us a heck of a lot of trouble.

"They don't know the Garden as well as you do." Cid said rationally. "Plus, the passage is long and tiny. If the Galbadians discovered the source, they could simply put some things into the passage and kill everyone in it. And they're bound to discover the source once two dozen people emerge from the same place."

Yeah, true. Well, so it's up to me, well, us, to save the day again. Except this time, I actually cared more than superficially. I mean, last time we saved the world, sure, but this time it's a hell of a lot more personal. Actually, that makes no sense. Last time was worse than now, considerably. We were so on a suicide mission fighting Ultimecia, and all my friends were in danger, too.

But they weren't, like, defenseless. They were fighting for their lives, but there was hope. This time it's like, sitting duck. And quick death, promised by Ultimecia's Time Compression, is much less painful than . . . than . . . whatever Matron had implied.

"Shouldn't we call Laguna now and tell him the plan?" Quistis pointed to the vidphone on the table.

"Yes, you're right." Matron replied. She typed in the number to Esthar Presidential Palace. A few seconds later, Laguna emerged, alone with Kiros.

Matron and Cid told Laguna about our plan. He totally agreed with it, and said we would have Estharians' support 100. He did say that in addition, once we released the gas, I should fire three shots in the air as an invasion signal. And Kiros told us that from what some scout had gathered, Carraway did put most of the students in the MD Level with relatively less security because the students were unarmed. That made our job lessen. We didn't have to run around trying to get tons of people either outside or down below, with plenty of G-soldiers behind our tails trying to shoot us.

"Quistis," Matron's concerned look fell on my companion. "Are you sure you're –"

"I'm perfectly fine, Matron." Quistis smiled. "And even if I'm not, I have to go. You know that."

Matron nodded. "I'm just happy the Hero was on you."

Hero? I gave Quistis a look. She told me the story in less than five sentences. I didn't quite get it, but I wasn't going to waste my time at this moment. It just meant that I had something else to remember and do once we get back to Balamb. Oh, by the way, how do we plan to get back?

I asked Cid. He said we could fly the Ragnarok. Matron said it's in the back. Psshhh, well, let's see how good I am with flying.

"He's okay, right?" Someone suddenly asked.

We all turned at the source of the quiet whisper. It's Sis. She probably heard everything from the doorway. I walked over and wrapped her in a hug. "Yeah." I answered. Squall was her closest brother, after all.

"Both of them?"

I realized she's asking about Seifer now, too. There's something she's not telling us. I suspect her ability let her saw flashes of the recent past, and it disturbed her greatly. Hell, I didn't have the ability and I still had a sinking feeling in my stomach.

"All of them," I reassured her. What else could I say? I gave her one final squeeze and left to follow Quistis. Before I stepped out the door, I turned to Cid.

"Cid, what would you have done if we're not here?"

He paused. "I don't know."

How frightening of an answer is that?

* * *

**Seifer:**

He knew something.

He knew something and he's not telling me.

I watched my lover as he sat, perfectly still, in the chair in his office with Lion Heart clutched tightly in his hand. He's completely expressionless. I lightly tapped the floorboard with Hyperion, while outside the door, Zell paced around the hall and Selphie stretched her nunchaku. We all could hear the screams and shouts and machine gun fire from downstairs. No magic, no summoning, and no commands. Somehow those Galbadian bastards casted a veil on Garden and eliminated everything except physical attacks and items. It reminded me of the fucking Ultimicia Castle. Yes, I've been there, too late to help my friends, though. Ultimecia, bitch, dropped me from the mind control when she realized I was useless to her. Fuck that.

_Bling_.

The sound of the intercom made me jump out of my skin. Squall calmly answered it. It was from the Junk Yard. They're on the second floor, in the classroom.

"Squall," Jamaica's voice crackled. "They've broken it. They're coming up now."

Fuck! Well, I knew they're gonna do it sooner or later. We'd been under attack for five fucking damn hours now. Five! The Esthar people are all dumbasses. They'd been outside trying to break in for more than three hours, and still couldn't. I thought they're the most advanced country people in the world . . . oh, wait, the most advanced military isn't them. My bad. Squall's brilliant plan held off these Galbadia military machines for five hours straight.

But now they're here.

I hated this. I hated this more than anything else we've ever done. It had always been us going about looking for the enemy. The enemy imposed themselves on us, yeah, but we still held the Ace. We're active. But now, now it's backwards. We're sitting ducks here, and they're attacking us. Mercilessly. And the damn catch was that we could do nothing about it. Absolutely not a fucking thing but wait until they knock at our door. I _hated_ this.

Squall stood up. The breaking of his last line of defense on the first floor made him wore a dead look. He knew the Junk Yard could not hold off the soldiers for long. Shit, we all did. But we all hoped.

"Guys," he said, "when the soldiers come up here, and when you realize there's no way we could hold them off, I want you to run that instant."

What? No fucking way!

"Squall, man, you crazy!" Zell piped. "I ain't gonna abandon you!"

"That's an order! You aren't abandoning me. They won't kill me, but they will kill you. The Estharians are right outside. I know with your abilities you can break out quite effortlessly."

"Then you come with us, too," Selphie whined.

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"I can't."

"How do you know they won't kill you, too?" I asked.

"They won't," There's that smile again. The same one he gave me when he told me what their target was. I didn't get it then, and I sure as hell don't get it now. "I promise you. They won't kill me."

"No time to chat now, 'cause here they come!" Zell suddenly exclaimed. Sure enough, blue and red uniforms surged out the elevator. Damn, that many!

I swung Hyperion outward and snarled slightly. I fired a couple of shots into the elevator, and landed some good blows. Zell jumped to the nearest guy and knocked him out in one punch. Selphie twirled Strange Vision around her in such skill that few could come meters within her. They're handling themselves well, so I concentrated on my own circle of red and blue bastards.

I heard a gun fire right behind me. I dove downwards and swung my blade around, caught the guy who shot me on the arm. Blood splattered from his wound as he yelped and dropped the gun. The bullet bounced off another guy's helmet, who was charging at me with a weird kind of blade. I blocked it with Hyperion. We sparred for a few minutes before he fumbled and I stabbed. Fields of red marred my vision. I twisted myself around, only to feel something cold and chilly swept my chest.

Suddenly a hot and burning sensation enveloped me. I looked down and saw my shirt was stained red. Shit. Ah, minor scratches are negligible. I heard another set of gunfire and rolled on the floor, blindly shot behind me. Somebody yelled and the firing stopped. Bingo.

I heard a shout and looked up. Squall had stabbed someone clearly through the chest with Lion Heart. The guy's dead. Oh yeah. He pulled out his gunblade, still glistening with blood, and swung it behind him, squarely chopped off some other soldier's arm. He didn't even flinch.

A crack behind me told me that Zell's Ergheiz had opened another skull. And the whoosh of the nunchaku brought down several others.

These Galbadians were dropping like flies. How the Hell did they make it all the way up here if that's their fighting level?

Something's not right. I knocked down another blue guard with my bare fist and made my way to Squall. We had our backs to each other soon after while facing several soldiers on either side. I felt his muscles tense. "You feel that?" He asked.

"What?" I shot down a soldier.

"That." His arms came up and down and I heard another yell.

I didn't feel anything. All I felt was the weight of my gunblade and the contact of bones and skulls with it. Soon we cleared up the soldiers around us. I looked to the hallway. Zell and Selphie had finished their batch, too. Stupid bastards. They call that an attack?

"Gee, why did they drop this stupid veil. They're just hurting themselves." Zell commented, gesturing at the litter of Galbadian soldiers on the floor.

"This could end up a lot cleaner if they didn't." Squall agreed. He started to wipe Lion Heart with his sleeve, but froze. I heard the elevator moving again. Great. Another stupid ass bunch again.

Selphie groaned and flared up her nunchaku. The elevator door opened, and out swarmed some more reds and blues. Except they seemed different this time. Their weapons looked odd.

Poof! I blinked. What was that? One red thrown a stone of some kind at Selphie, she dodged, but the stone vanished into purplish-pink smoke. It surrounded her for a second, then turned clear. The red looked at it, then grinned. I didn't like that grin.

Selphie looked confuse for a second. She shrugged it off and went on ahead with her attacking. The soldier dodged skillfully and started sparring her with a rope of lead. Okay, it's probably not a rope of lead, but that's what it looked like to me. Another guy jumped on Zell and they wrestled on the floor. Another poof of pinkish smoke came from the rolling bundle.

I didn't like it. Whatever that was, I didn't like it one bit. So I withdrew some Flare stones and threw it to the other soldiers piling out the door. The explosion took out some of them. A particularly quick one jumped out and slashed at me with his curved knife. I jumped back, avoiding the tip of that sharp blade. I swung my Hyperion just as I felt something thrown at my feet. Poof.

A tingling sensation went through me, like I was being scanned. I focused on ignoring it and struck the other guy's arm. He yelped, rolled back, and landed underneath a table. I saw out of the corner of my eye that Squall was surrounded by pink mist, too. There were only a few soldiers left. I guess they were the top ones, for their battle skills were adequate. I swung downward, hope to push that quickie out from the desk and catch him up. I don't like fighting low.

Then things changed.

Instead of jumping up or even avoiding, I saw a flash of silver aiming straight toward my groin. No, above that, my navel. I was so surprised that I turned the attacking stance into a defensive block. The blades met with a ding, and my hand shook. The fuck? Then I realized the angle I blocked it with hit the weak spot of my wrist perfectly.

"Aiyo!" Selphie's high voice shrieked. The guy with that metal whip had wrapped it around her ankles and had dragged her on the ground. Her nunchaku flew out of her hand as she kicked off her boots to get up. The minute her boots were off, another twirling rope wrapped around her bare ankles and dragged her down again. This time it'd drawn blood and Selphie shrieked louder.

I watched in horror as another soldier came up and beat on Selphie with a wooden staff, everywhere it touched a blue bruise formed. She was frantically shielding herself in vain. I dashed toward the door, just in time to see the guy that was wrestling with Zell had him in a headlock. Then I heard a snap.

I froze in midstep. Snap. I saw Zell's eyes closed and he slumped on the floor. Just like that. It was so clean. He didn't have time to scream, or even make a single sound. A single crisp and sharp snap and Zell Dincht, one of the most fearless warriors I've known, was down. Was gone.

What the fuck. What the fuck!

I was so shocked by what's going on around me that I didn't see the quickie got up from the floor. I didn't hear him creep behind me. I didn't even know what he planned to do until I heard Squall called my name in pain. I swung around then.

Only to feel the thin edge of metal pushed deep across my stomach. Warmth flooded me, then cold chilly wind. My breathing paused. I heard Hyperion clashed on the floor as everything became blurry around me. The room spun. I felt volumes of liquid leaving my body in a stream, went past my hands, and poured on the floor. I vaguely heard Selphie's voice calling my name. And saw the desperation burst out from Squall's face, and the "No" spun from his lips.

I felt the wall behind my back. My knees grew weak. The quickie smirked and stepped out of my dimming vision. The breath that never got past my lips ever since I turned came out in spurts of shallow gasps. I slid slowly downward toward the ground, feeling the old pain opened up under this new invasion. Squall had sliced me on the stomach during our last fight before Ultimecia. It didn't leave a scar, but sometimes the muscle ached if I overstretched them. My only weak place.

Weak place. Of course. It all made sense. My wrist. My stomach. Selphie's ankles. The pink mist. Scan. It all . . .

The room suddenly got quieter. And darker. My clothes were soaked, and why were they wet again? . . . Squall . . . I saw some blue guy jumped on his back . . . he was pinned . . . I . . . .

Lights faded more rapidly. Or was it my own eyes closing? Squall . . . I love you . . .. Red . . . all red . . . and then black. . . . . . . Black . . . bl . . . .

* * *

**Selphie:**

"Seifer!" I screamed the same time Squall shouted "No!" His voice cracked. Tears streamed down my face. Ouch! Another hit from the wood landed on my leg. Stop it! I rolled.

"Okay, that's quite enough," Some old man's voice said. I looked up and saw General Carraway coming with a weird looking woman. She's definitely not a sorceress, but she just looked so . . . not nice. Bummer.

I struggled to get up but failed. Somebody tied my hands behind my back with a tight rope and hauled me to my feet. OWWWWW! My ankles! I yelped.

"Aw, poor dear," The woman cooed. "Carry her down gently, boy."

"Where?" The blue-uniform guy asked.

She looked at the General. He thought for a second. "Uh, the same as the other four."

"Yes sir."

The other four? Oh no, my friends from Trabia! No! They're captured too. Mega Mega Mega bummer!

Before I lost sight of the Headmaster's office, I saw Squall being yanked to his feet. His hands were tied behind his back, like mine were. General Carraway and the woman, gotta be his wife and Rinoa's stepmother, advanced and closed the door.

I stopped sniffling and looked at the guy who's carrying me. Wasn't he supposed to want to kill me or something? Well, he just looked so, sad. I frowned. "Why you so sad? You should be glad you won."

"Heh, win?" He scoffed. "What kind of win is this, huh? I fought you, and you're the most innocent and sweet-looking girl I've ever met. I lost my best friend when I came here. I saw one of your friends chopped him in half. What glory is in this win? It's all bloody, and it's all a mess."

Wow. A Galbadian soldier being sentimental? Who trained him? "Uh, my friend?"

"Yeah. The dancer looking guy with that huge knife with a long handle."

Steve. Yeek.

"Oh. Oops. I'm sorry."

"All's fair in love and war." He quoted a cliché. By then we reached second floor classroom. He brought me inside the room and dropped me gently on the floor. I saw Steve, Matt, Jen, and Mai all cooped up in one big net. Their weapons were thrown far on the other side. Mai jumped up when she saw me.

"Selph! Oh my God! Are you okay?"

I nodded. I was sore all over, but compared to my other friends . . . Zell . . . I was okay. Zell . . .

"No no, hang her up,"

I turned to see an officer in red uniform spoke from the doorway. The blue-uniform guy sighed, and took out another rope. "Sorry." He whispered. Then he wrapped it tightly around my bleeding ankles, OW, and then I felt being lifted upside down and dangling from the ceiling light.

"Hey, wait a minute here, you let her down!" Steve hollered. He banged on the net thingy, then yelped when it burnt his hand.

"Let her down? Yeah, then she'll free you all and we have to fight you all over again. Yeah, right, in your dreams." I didn't like the red-uniform guy. He's bad.

Then they tied my hands tighter together behind my back, and left. The world looked so inverted.

"Are you all okay?" I asked hurriedly. "Y'all are great at fighting! How did they get ya?"

"The same way they got you," Jen replied solemnly. "They have this item, Scan stone or something, that can detect weak spots. Well, our weak spot is that we're good if we stick together. So they just dropped this net and voila we're here."

"Oh." That's right. I always had weak ankles. That's why I always check my boots to make sure they fit right so my ankles won't get twisted. Now those Galbadians used it to their advantage. Darn.

"Does your ankle hurt?" Mai asked. Matt glared at her. "Wait, hold on, Selph, have you been crying?"

Oh, the mention of it brought more tears to my eyes. So I poured out and told them everything that's gone wrong up there. Up to the minute I got carried down. Their eyes all got big on their faces, even though I was looking at them upside down.

"Are – Are they still – I mean are they – You know what I mean!" Mai sputtered.

"I don't know. I don't know." I shook my head violently. I didn't want to think about it. They're okay. Nothing a Phoenix Down couldn't handle. Or a bunch of Curagas. Right?

Crash!

Whoa. What was that? I twisted my neck and saw a something on the wall had been struck and several boxes scattered on the floor. Someone laughed. I twisted my neck the other way and saw another blue-uniform holding a sizzling, crackling, electric whip. He was testing it out in the room.

"Look at that, man. This thing can _hurt_!" He laughed with another blue-uniform.

"Naw, for real. Man, I feel sorry for him."

"Really?"

"Nah." More laughter. Then they disappeared. Huh?

_Crackle crackle. Ding. _I stared at the wall. What was that?

"That button he accidentally struck must've been a switch. What did it switch on?" Jen conjectured.

We didn't have to wait long, for a voice was heard clearly from the wall. General Carraway's, I recognized. Must've been the PA system for this room. We could hear them. I wonder if they could hear us.

"I know you aren't stupid, Squall," Carraway said. "You know why I'm here. So let's cut to the chase. Where is it?"

"Where's what?" Mai blurted out. Jen shushed her, but it seemed that no one on the other side heard. So it's a one-sided radio. Cool.

"You think I'm going to tell you?" Squall's voice sounded so bitter.

"I don't think. I know, if you know what's best for you and this Garden. You tell me, I will retreat immediately. That's a promise."

"Hah. I'm sure."

"I don't break promises. Come on, you give me what I want, I'll let you save your friends who's still alive. Don't you want to try to save your lover, or hold him one more time before his body cools, at least? Yes, I know all about you two, unlike what my daughter believed, months ago. But it's all up to you, _Headmaster_."

Silence. Then, "Fuck you."

"Ooh, tsk tsk," A female voice joined. "Stubborn."

"Who's that?" Steve asked me.

"It's Carraway's new wife." I told him. "Rinoa's stepmother."

"She sounds kinda . . . evil." Mai said. I agreed. We all agreed.

"Come on, be cooperative. It saves you pain." The woman said. Some footsteps followed. "I heard about you from Rinoa and other sources plenty of times. First time I met you though. Darlin', he's quite gorgeous." Clearly the last statement was to her husband. Hey! She's crossing the line. That was weird. And wrong.

I heard Squall gasp. Then some more silence and suddenly a ripping. Materials ripping. Whoa, what was she doing!

"Holy shit!" Mai hopped up, hit her head on top of the net. It burnt her but she ignored it. "Holy fucking shit! No! NO!"

"Shut up, Jamaica! You're tearing up my ears." Jen said. But her voice was shaking a bit. Anger or whatever, I didn't know.

"Porcelain. You don't want some marks on this fine porcelain, do you?" The woman's voice turned a degree. Squall scoffed in contempt.

"Huh, well," she continued. "Suit yourself." Footsteps mingling everywhere. Then a familiar crackle.

Uh-oh.

_Whoosh. Slap. _

A gasp.

"One," The woman counted.

"What the fuck . . .?" Shock saturated in Steve's voice.

_Whoosh. Slap. _

Another gasp.

"Two. Come on, scream for me. Keep going."

"Psycho bitch." Mai commented.

_Whoosh. Slap. _

A strained groan.

"Three. Scream. I want to hear you."

"Uh, darlin'," Carraway's rough voice cut in. "You do know the limit is one –"

"One hundred, I know. I won't go past that number, honey, don't worry. He'll be jumping to tell us where it is in no time." _Whoosh. Slap._ "Four. Is that whip on max, Lieutenant?"

"No, m'am. You want me to turn it on?"

"Of course."

"Glad to oblige."

"Ahhhh," Mai gasped. She started jumping everywhere. "Bastard! And PSYCHO BITCH! Ohmigod, we need to get out. Like, seriously, like, now!"

_Whoosh. Slap. _

"Five."

I cringed. Poor Squall. "Selph, you're the only one on the outside, swing or something. You're not that far from our weapons!" Jen ordered me.

I nodded. Ouch! Ankles still bleeding. Oh, ignore that. I swung hard toward the weapons. Nope.

"She's still counting," Steve said quietly. "Ten."

I swung again and again. It didn't work. Come on, Selphie, you can do it! Again.

"Sixteen." Steve continued. He's half counting to himself because we could all hear it loud and clear.

Come on! I felt the rope began to cut into my ankles. But then it started to move. Huh? I looked up, and saw the loop was slowly sliding off the ceiling light. Great!

"Twenty."

"Hop on it! Come on!" Jen noticed the slip and began to encourage me. I swung some more. Yeah! A few centimeters and –

"Twenty-three."

And Squall screamed.

And we all froze.

It's rare to hear Squall scream, or even grunt when he's in pain. He always suffered it in silence. I never heard him scream before. But this time. Oh Almighty God.

_Whoosh. Slap. _

The beating didn't stop. Neither did the counting. Squall screamed again. It was so loud and so heart-wrenching! I just needed a few centimeters and I'd be off –

"Whoa, where you plan to go, miss?"

Uh-oh.

"And what's this?"

Double uh-oh.

A red-uniform came up. I felt him lifting me up and sliding the loop further back. Then he double knotted it so it wouldn't move. I wanted to kick him, but . . . argh!

He then switched off the radio. But it didn't matter much, because we could hear the screams emanating from the ceiling. "Ah, pitying your friend, I see. He should've just given us what we wanted and then he wouldn't be in this torture. Idiot. Wait, maybe I shouldn't . . . " He smirked, then switched the radio back on.

"Turn it off. Turn it off!" Steve covered his ears. The red-uniform just chuckled and left.

We're all still stuck. Horribly stuck.

And the screams. God have mercy. Please.

* * *


	9. Part V: Salvages (A)

**

* * *

**

Barbed Wire

Part V: Salvages

**Rinoa:**

"Ouch! Don't shove me!"

I yelled at the cumbersome soldier who pushed me down the steps. I stumbled but caught my balance. Stupid soldiers. They knew perfectly well who I am. And they still did this? I didn't deserve to be forced into this dungeon!

That man put me here, of course. And that woman, I seriously could strangle her to death in a heartbeat. I groaned in frustration. But there was not much I could do. My weapon's neatly put away and guarded so I couldn't even break out.

I stomped. The place was crowded. I mean, all the Garden students were down here. All disarmed. I could lead them to a mutiny, but the Galbadian guards, as few as there were, all had some kind of super weapon with them that could knock out all of us in seconds. I was not, well, very confident that we could actually do some damage.

Plus, most of the capable fighters were either dead or seriously wounded. I was in charge of the junior classmen, Squall put me there, and I did my job and they were spared with few injuries. But all the rest of the SeeD candidates and SeeDs were not quite so lucky. Dr. Kadowaki was busy down here, trying to help the ones she could in any way without equipments and magic. The whole room buzzed with confusion.

Stupid magic barrier.

Stupid everything!

I paced around and around. There was absolutely nothing I could do! It felt so helpless. I never felt this helpless before. No one here to aid me. I wondered away from the crowd. This was the MD level, right? Well, there's gotta be some passageway leading outside or something. The sewers are excellent escape routes. Or they are in most movies.

Life's not a movie.

"Hey, Rinoa!"

I turned. It was Xu. "Yeah, what's up?"

"You're down here, too? Is anyone else here with you?"

I shook my head. She obviously was talking about the rest of our friends. "They didn't come with me. I think they're still fighting up there."

This time she shook her head. "No. Fighting had stopped at least two hours ago."

"What! You're joking me!" No way! I thought I heard some gunfire or something up there, well, I felt like there's something, well, okay, it's been pretty quiet for a while. I had led a few junior classmen away from the battlefield. We had hidden in the Training Center; I thought we're safe. Until them stubborn relentless soldiers found us. We must've been there much longer than I realized. I was too busy worrying and wondering what's going on up on the third floor. I heard bits and pieces of stuff about it, but. Two _hours_!

Now I began to worry. About Squall. And Seifer. And Zell. And Selphie. I was panicking. They should've been down here, too. This was where the prisoners were held. They should've been down here, with the rest of us.

"No. They aren't here." Xu replied. She's panicking, too. "When I saw you and you're all right, I was relieved. I thought if you show up they'll show up soon. Dr. Kadowaki is very worried. Where were you?"

"Oh, I was hiding in the Training Center. But the others, my goodness," I gasped. "They're not . . . dead, are they?"

Xu looked horrified. But she shook her head firmly. "All of them? No. Can't be."

I swallowed hard. They can't be dead. No way. I refuse to believe that. They can't.

_Crash_.

I jumped a mile. "Did you hear that?"

Xu nodded. We were standing along the edge of a wall. There was a corridor a couple of steps away, and it was unguarded. I remembered the guard saying it was a dead end and left to guard the other entrances. Guess I couldn't get out even if there _was_ an oil pipe leading outside. They're prepared.

"Should we . . . go check it out?" Xu poked me in the arm. I looked at the dark passageway. If there was a monster of some kind lurking, we'd be in trouble. We'd be dinner.

But on the other hand, it's better than doing nothing. At least this would distract me from whatever I was feeling right now. "Yeah. Come on. Maybe it's someone who can help."

Xu knew how empty of a hope that was, but she followed me without a grumble. She must've felt the same way I did. Everyone down here must've.

"Hello?" I called out timidly into the dark. This part of the oil pipe was particularly black and cold. No wonder the guards all left. Who knows what's hidden in this place.

"Rinoa?"

I nearly got shocked out my head. Who was that? Xu grabbed my arm instinctively.

"Rinoa? Is that you?" The same whispery voice asked again.

I crept closer into blindness. "Um, yeah, who're you?"

"Come in closer. Are there any guards out there?"

"No. Who are you?"

"It's me. Quistis."

"Quistis?" I restrained myself from crying out loud. Joy swept into my heart. Someone came in from the outside! "Oh my goodness! What – how – where were you earlier?"

I dashed blindly in and ran into her. Xu followed closely. She checked behind her to make sure no one else had saw us. When Quistis came out a little into the light, my eyes widened. She got a haircut. And she looked so pale.

"Xu. Is everyone down here?" Quistis asked.

Sadness crept into Xu's expression again. "No. All the students, those that're alive, that is, and most of the faculty are down here. Except . . ."

"Except for the ones that matter to us most." Quistis sighed. "Do you know which floor they're held captive on?"

Xu and I both shook our heads. "I'll try second or third," Xu suggested. "First floor is quarantined."

"Why?" Quistis raised her eyebrows.

"Don't know." Xu shrugged. "But, Quistis, how'd you get back here? Does this mean we can all leave and run to the Estharians?"

"No!" Quistis exclaimed. She then immediately looked around, and lowered her voice. "No. Xu, Rinoa, I'm here on a mission to rescue everyone and drive these Galbadian bastards out of our Garden." She then explained to us probably the most outrageous and craziest attempt I've ever heard. It was so impossibly hard that it's insane.

"You are so joking." I said as soon as she finished. "You're gonna go up there and basically take on the entire G-Army, and rescue a bunch of people, and manage to go in a dorm room and release the poison, all with only physical attacks and items? That's not possible!"

"She's right," Xu agreed. "At least let us come with you. You say that it may arouse suspicion if masses of students vanish. Well, no one's going to miss us two."

"You're both unarmed." Quistis pointed out.

"We could get our weapons back." I retorted. True, I had no idea where they kept our weapons, but that shouldn't be a problem once we're, you know, fighting. We'd find them somehow. Plus, I'm a sorceress. I can use magi – oh, the veil. Darn.

Xu and I must've argued with Quistis for a good while before she finally snapped. "LOOK, I hate to be rude to both of you, but you're not going to help me if you just follow me up unarmed. All the weapons are guarded quite sufficiently, and I don't think I could get them through the security while looking after you two at the same time. I know the risk of what I'm about to do anyways, I don't need any additional responsibilities. I'm sorry. And I wasted enough time standing here arguing." She rubbed her temples. "After I'm gone, go rally up a mutiny. Take those guards down. We have at least a couple of hundred people here and from what I gathered there're only ten guards or so. I'm sure somebody has some items leftover. Take them down! Then gather everyone, lock the doors, and don't let ANYONE in. No one, you hear me? These oil pipes lead to nowhere, except the one I came from and there are Estharians guarding that place. We want the G-bastards to die. Don't let them in."

"What if it's you or anyone else from Balamb?" I asked.

Quistis's lips quivered a little. Then she thinned it. "No one, Rinoa. Understood?"

But –

"Understood."

I gaped at Xu. She had a set look on her face. How could she say that! What if Quistis had to activate the gas and not everyone was out? I mean, there's a good chance that they get lost in the way. Or they could be wounded. I'm just gonna stand here and listen to them pound on the door and not let them in? I can't do that.

"There are always sacrifices. And if I had to be one of the sacrificed to secure the lives of everyone in Garden, so be it." Quistis said to me. "I'm sure everyone else up there would agree, too. We have to purge the G-soldiers, or we'll regret it."

We will? She didn't tell us what the Galbadians were after. She just said they're after something very important. Now it sounded quite serious.

Xu nodded. "Yes. Go. Good luck." She saluted.

Quistis smiled and saluted back. Abruptly she turned and vanished back into the blackness.

Xu turned to me. "Well, let's go wreak some havoc."

"With what?" I was skeptical. All I had left in my items were a Flare Stone and a Meteor Stone. Enough for one soldier. That's it.

"I have a couple of Shell and Protect Stones left." Xu took out the glittering spheres. "If we get enough people and compile all of our weak inventories, we'd kill those G-soldiers for sure."

That actually sounded sensible. I quickly agreed and we made our way back into the buzzing crowd. We found Dr. Kadowaki and told her everything. None of the ten guards were paying attention. Their own stupidity.

Soon we had passed the word to everyone stuck there. We actually had a pretty impressive inventory when we laid all of our hidden items on the table, so to speak. We just needed a signal so everyone could throw their stuff at the soldiers in unison. That way before they could even draw their weapons, they'd be all down. It would also mean that after this, we'd really have nothing left. One chance. It's worth it, though.

I chose to be the signal. I wanted to be it. They're gonna pay for what they had done to me. To us.

"Hey, HEY!" I called to the nearest soldier.

He turned to me, annoyed. "What?"

"NOW!" I screamed at the top of my lungs.

_BOOM! _

After the haze cleared. The red and blue colored Galbadians were on the ground. All unconscious. We cheered. I jumped up and clapped my hands in joy. Someone found some soiled rope and tied all of them up in a circle. We searched them and came up with a bunch of Remedies and Elixirs. Good thing the soldiers kept themselves stocked.

I climbed on top of the oil ladder and checked the entrance. It was secured. To be sure, I double locked it using another soiled chain picked up from some debris. No one could get in.

Now we wait.

* * *

**Squall:**

"Had enough?"

I raised my head. I looked at the woman sharply. She simply smiled and met my gaze, undaunted. My breath hitched as another wave of pain washed over my torso. The electric charge zoomed through me, burning every inch of my blood vessels and muscles. I didn't scream. My voice wore out an hour ago.

"Eighty five," She counted in that liquid voice of hers. "Now, honey, please tell me you're ready to answer."

I just narrowed my eyes. This had been going on for two hours solid. I had passed out thrice, only to wake up with cold water dripping down my body onto the floor, mixed with tinted blood. She asked me the same question over and over. I knew my answer. She knew my answer. She just didn't give up. Carraway had been long absent. He had no patience.

Another pain jolted me out of the thoughts. She yanked me up by my wet hair, and was looking straight into my eyes. I blanked them. She frowned.

"Tell me."

" . . . " Not even in your nightmares.

She snarled. It looked so similar to Ultimecia's, yet so different. "Fine. Pretty boy. I have all the time in the world. We'll see who outlasts whom. Lieutenant," she turned to the blue guy with the whip, "he's all yours. Oh, bring in your second in command, too."

The guy grinned. "Yes m'am." He called into his communicator and several seconds later, the door opened, and in came another soldier. He had several ropes and wires hung on his belt.

"Take him down. Tie his hands up, though." The woman lazily ordered. The second soldiers dutifully obeyed. I felt my wrist loosen from the shackles that held them and my knees buckled under me. He caught me before I collapsed on the floor.

"Tell me when you had enough," The woman said. I didn't look up. "He's _yours_." She said once more time to the lieutenant. Then, from her fading footsteps and the slam of the door, I was left alone in the room with the two soldiers.

My mind was so fuzzy that it didn't register on me what she meant until a rough wrench jerked me upright. A hand clutched my jaw and soon a pair of greedy lips devoured my own. I gasped and my eyes widened. A hot tongue swept the inside of my mouth and pulled away quickly before I could bite down. Bitch.

The lieutenant leered and rubbed his hands. "You're expecting another hour of whipping, huh? Well, expect something else, boy. And to be frank, I wanted to do that ever since I laid my eyes on you. Guess I didn't serve Mistress for ten years in vain." His grin broadened. "But I do pity you. Why don't you just tell her what she wants and spare yourself of this thing, hm?"

I glared. He saw my expression and shrugged. The other guy behind me, who had my wrist tied tight enough to bleed, tore off the scantily clad shirt I had on. It wasn't really a shirt anymore because the whip had rendered it pretty much to shreds. I felt his breath in my ear. It disgusted me.

I started struggling. For the first time ever since this mess started, I admitted that I was scared. I thrashed with all my worth, but to no avail. The guy behind me had me in a death grip and he started to chew on my earlobe, tugging roughly on my earring. At the same time, the lieutenant came up to me, and licked his way down my throat.

I wanted to throw up. I was on the verge of puking out my stomach.

"No . . ." I whispered. The reply I got was chuckles. Filthy.

The mouth on my neck moved downward, not before it left a bruise, and went to my left nipple. A lewd hand waved in front of my abdomen, then immediately grabbed my groin muscle and started messaging it. I shuddered. The lieutenant bit down hard on my nipple, drawing blood. The other guy found a wound on my neck from the whip and ran his tongue along it. I felt his erection jabbing into my back.

I was breathing quite heavily by now. The mild pain radiating from my chest sent a warmth to my own erection. I cursed my body, for betraying me, and for satisfying these slimes. My head screamed as I closed my eyes.

Defeated.

Accepted.

Something warm slid down my cheek. It tasted salty. I bit my lip, not making a sound. My mind blanked out the messages my body had sent, and only saw one image. A pair of jade green eyes. Hard and caring at the same time.

Unreadable. Guarded. But I could see through them as clear as bay. What lies underneath was . . .

_Click_.

The pressure between my legs suddenly stiffened. The hand stopped. The mouth stopped. So did the tongue. It took me a moment to feel what's going on. I slowly opened my eyes.

And stared right into the barrel of Exeter.

Except it's not pointing at me, but directly at the temple of the man bending over my chest. I moved my eyes up and saw none other than the pony-tailed cowboy, with an amused expression and his usual grin, but there were some intangible hostility carved deep into it.

Relief rose from my heart, engulfing the pain. I smiled appreciatively at him, although I had no idea how did he get in here without making a sound or how did he get back in, period.

The lieutenant's expression was on the verge of hyperventilation. Coward. "Irvine Kinneas," He uttered.

Irvine cocked his head. "Recognize me, I see. Then I assume you also know the accuracy of my gun, and how near a point-blank range your head is to this gun. Get off of him." His voice hardened.

The lieutenant obediently stood up and put his hands behind his head. I felt the other soldier move behind me, but he immediately froze when Irvine pulled out a second gun and crossed his left arm over to point it at _his_ face. "Ah ah ah, you ain't gonna move anywhere, either." He ordered. "Cut him loose and step out."

The other soldier didn't budge. Irvine turned to watch him. "Cut the ropes and step out. I can shoot you dead in a second; these are regular bullets. Now, come on."

"How do I know you won't after I do that?" His grip tightened around my wrists.

"You don't. Either way I can free him. You rather be dead now or get a few more moments of breath?"

Something in Irvine's tone must've unnerved him, for, like the lieutenant, the soldier severed the ropes and stepped away from me obediently. I had to use all my strength to remain standing. Finally, I gave up and knelt onto the floor, into the puddles of water and blood.

In a flash as quick as lightning, Irvine twirled both of his guns and fired them at once. It was surprisingly quiet, but the two G-soldiers fell down unconscious. He then threw an Elixir at me, which I drank greedily. The surge of healing liquid coursed through my tissues and started mending them. Strength returned.

So did hatred.

When I got up from the floor again, my vision naturally fell on the Lion Heart in the corner of the room. I didn't know why they hadn't confiscate it, perhaps to humiliate me more by showing that I couldn't get my weapon and fight back even though it's meters within reach. Their loss. I quickly walked to it and lifted the gunblade, feeling the familiar ring in my hands.

I turned to look at the two on the floor. "Are they dead?"

"No," Irvine shook his head. "I used Dark Shots, the regular one's too loud and might attract attention. They're just sleeping."

I walked calmly to the soldiers and stabbed my blade through both of their chests, one after the other. I made sure it cut the hearts in two and sliced open the backbones. When I was done, I caught the look Irvine gave me. Whatever. "They are now."

"Um, Squall . . . " He stopped what he was about to say when he saw my expression. "Let's get outta here."

"Quistis running the back-up system?" I followed him to the hidden door where he had apparently emerged. It leaded to the elevator shaft.

"Yeah, once we get all of y'all outside. The students are all down in MD, so it's only the ten of us. Quistis is probably getting the people in MD to lock the entrance and take out the guards. That's the plan. Uh, where're . . .?"

"Second floor classrooms," I replied. I knew that's where they're at. Where they dragged Zell and Seifer's body to and where Selphie and the Junk Yard were imprisoned. They didn't trust us enough to let us be put with the masses. And they're right.

Irvine got in first. I didn't know the shaft enough to navigate through it. We emerged in the hallway and were immediately greeted by swarms of G-soldiers.

Low-leveled ones. Or maybe not. But I was too busy killing to care or notice. The bodies started to pile up in my left and right. I had one destination and I would reach it no matter what.

Irvine was desperately trying to keep up with me. He had to reload his gun a few times, which slowed him down. It did take me some time to aim for my targets' vital organs to fatally wound them, but those're negligible.

"Squall! Squall! Hey!" Irvine, please be quiet. I ignored him and turned sharply. The classrooms were straight ahead. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw some blue soldier raised his hand. I instinctively shot him in the wrist, making him drop whatever he was holding. He howled while the familiar pink mist enveloped him.

I still didn't know what that was, but it's him, not me, who was surrounded in it. That's all I care. I shot at him the second time, the bullet went through his left eye and angled to pierce his brain. Red and gray matter spilled on the floor as the soldier dropped. Whatever.

I dashed into the classroom next to the one where Junk Yard was at. A shot ran behind, Galbadian machine gun. I spun myself in circles and ducked behind the doorframe. Irvine zoomed in after me, returning fires with his gun. I quickly knocked open a small box by the doorway and typed in a code. The door slid shut, double guarded, and locked. Being Headmaster has its advantages.

I waited until my breathing slowed down before I turned to the room. I didn't even realize my breathing was above normal frequencies until now. Irvine was sweaty and his face was beet red. He glanced toward the middle of the room casually, then gasped loud.

I didn't make a sound. I expected it. I expected to see Seifer lying on the cold floor, unconscious, looking as dead as a white sheet. Dried blood caked the ground beneath him, covered a good meter in radius before splattering off. I expected to see Zell against a desk, head turned to one side, and mouth hanging open. A thin trickle of blood seeped out of Zell's mouth and onto his shirt, dried as well. Neither one was breathing. I expected it.

"My God!" Irvine hadn't.

I looked at him coolly. Then I reached inside the holster of my gunblade and retrieved an item. Irvine just stared back at me. He shook his head. "Squall, they're dead."

No, they're not.

"Squall, I know you're listening. They're –"

"They're not."

He frowned. "Look, it's –"

I turned away from him before he could finish. They're not dead. At least _he's_ not dead. Irvine knew nothing. He didn't understand the fact that he promised me. He _promised_.

I slammed the Phoenix Pinion onto the tile.

* * *

**Irvine:**

A bright flame ignited around the space surrounding the feather, enveloping Squall's lean frame as the fire bolted. Squall vanished as the Phoenix rose from the blaze, burning with color. The temperature had increased tremendously in the small room. I backed away slightly, avoiding being burned. The Phoenix screeched as a curtain of gold wrapped around the two perfectly still bodies. The fire cleansed the blood and made their skin appeared golden. The phoenix turned, risen from the ashes, and flew through the ceiling of the room, disappearing. I saw Squall's form solidified once more. His expression was unreadable.

Actually, Squall's expression had been gone for the past however many minutes after I emerged from the elevator. I know he's not much of a talker, especially when battle's involved, but now he's just downright mute. Mute to the point of rude. I couldn't feel him anymore. It's like he just blocked off the thing he called a heart and used his head solely.

And his eyes were so blank they're scary.

I shook the thoughts away when I saw Zell stirring. I ran to him and lifted his form up gingerly, afraid to break or dislodge anything in the process. Zell groaned and opened his eyes.

"Ugh, my neck hurts."

"Can you move it at all?" I inquired as my hands retrieved a high potion. Zell cranked his neck slowly and it cracked.

"Owowowowowowow!" He immediately yelled. Well, that settles it. I gave him the high potion and started to tear off a piece from my shirt.

"What are you doing?" Zell asked between gulps.

"Wrap your neck up so you can move without moving your neck, duh." I grinned slightly. "Uh, you do know that we're still in the war and there are Galbadian soldiers everywhere whom we have to fight and we really need to get out soon, right?"

"We WHAT?" He immediately sat up, cringing in pain as he did this, and looked at his surroundings. "No way! We're STILL here!"

"Yeah, Zell, where've you been?" I snickered and wrapped the cloths around his neck.

"Unconscious with a broken neck, thank you."

"If it's really broken, you'd still be dead."

"Close enough."

I shook my head slightly. I looked over at Seifer and saw he was wide-awake already. Squall was bandaging his torso.

But that's all he's doing. I mean, I expected them to be kissing and asking things that a couple should ask when one just came back from near death. Well, they should be at least talking. But Squall was just concentrating on the cloth and not even looking up.

I looked at Seifer. He was as confused as I was. He kept on opening his mouth to say something but nothing came out. Finally he just gave up and waited until Squall finished securing the piece of material taken from his own shirt, for Squall himself has nothing left to tear from. Then he lifted up Squall's chin to make him look at him. Their eyes met.

"Whoa, creepy," Zell commented. I shushed him.

Seifer frowned and looked slightly taken aback. Squall calmly stood up and stepped away. He offered his hand to Seifer, who still stared with knitted brows. Just then, a loud bang ran from the direction of the door.

I jumped up immediately and aimed my gun toward that direction. The double doors were forced open, probably with some override code Carraway figured out, and soldiers blocked the way. Time to cut down some more garbage.

Zell hopped with me and instantly hammered some unsuspecting soldier on the head. I noticed he still had his fighting gloves on. They didn't disarm him? Come to think of it, they didn't disarm any of the people they considered a major threat. Seifer's Hyperion was lying right by the chair on the other side of the desk. Can you say stupid?

Squall started killing mercilessly again with his previous tact. I protected Seifer's back, because he really couldn't move that easily with that gash on his stomach and the loss of blood. He kept his eyes on Squall the entire time. In the puzzled gaze there were flashes of pain.

I shot one soldier after another, but they seemed to gain in numbers. We're trapped in one room while they're all outside, not really good for us. I was just pondering on how to break out the door when I heard a cranking from the back.

"Look out!" Someone shrieked from the other side of the swarm.

A wave of something silvery white plummeted down on all four of us. It came from behind the blue and red guards, probably from an arrow launcher. I knew the device from my training in G-Garden. I rolled on the floor and covered my head with my coat. Several sharp points lodged in my arms. Ouch.

"Squall!" Seifer's voice.

I looked up and saw just in time that an arrow shot through Squall's torso from his back. The force was so great that it sent him arching forward and crumbling to his knees. He braced himself with his hands, nails digging into the floor. The arrow struck somewhere between his last two sets of ribs. I heard him gasp in pain, but not once let his vocal cord slip.

Another deep scar to add to his battle-infused body.

On the Galbadian side, commotion broke out from their backside. I heard yells and cries and weapons being weld against each other. Soon the blue and reds thinned out and Quistis' and Selphie's figures emerged. Each armed and blood-soaked.

"Zell! Seifer! My God you aren't dead!" Selphie shrieked and rammed into Zell and hugged him tight. Zell was trying to pry her off because he was kinda in pain. I smiled and winked at Quistis, who started to smile but it faltered when she saw Squall.

Seifer was by him, trying to help him up. Squall violently pushed him away, then grabbed the arrow by the feather, and yanked it out his body. _Raw. _Dark red splattered with a projectile arc, staining the wall a brilliant shade of hemoglobin.

He nearly tripped when he stood up. Blood flowed down his bare torso and he ignored it plainly. He wiped the blood from his mouth and looked at us.

We all stared at him.

I shuddered at the sight of those dark flat eyes. I had never seen Squall like this. Even before Ultimecia, when he was cold as heck, his eyes weren't _this_ icy. This . . . _crazy_. They at least carried some emotions when he and I went to assassinate Matron. Encouragement of some kind. Now it's just, nothing.

Nothing.

"We need to shut down this place," Squall spoke. I physically jumped, so did almost everyone in the room save Seifer.

"What?" Zell found his voice.

"We need to shut this place down. Now the Galbadians are in control. They're using all the Garden's power against the Estharians. We shut off main power, the whole place turns pitch black. Good for our cover if we're going to carry out the back-up plan, Instructor. We need to split up. One team for the switch, one to give them cover so the soldiers won't realize what we're doing. Then we split around the Parking Lot and one head for the Dormitory and the other the Training Center."

"What back-up plan?" Zell asked. Oh yeah, he didn't know.

"No time to explain now," I told him. "You just worry about getting outside."

"Outside? No way, man, this place is like a metal box!"

"Jump off the Secret Area's balcony, stupid," Seifer snickered. "The switch is right by the door of the Secret Area anyway."

"Hey, how did you know this?" Selphie tilted her head.

Seifer raised an eyebrow. "Please. I know a lot of things about this Garden."

"There're no more soldiers, odd," Quistis gazed at the doorway.

"That's because my friends are holding them off." Selphie smiled. She then looked sincerely at Quistis and said, "I'm sorry."

"Huh?"

"I'm sorry about . . . that."

"Oh, don't worry, it's okay," Quistis waved her hand in dismissal.

It's okay? No it wasn't. Not to me. But I didn't say anything. Now was not the time. I turned to Squall, "So who's on what team?"

"Selphie, you and the Junk Yard can go to the Training Center. Seifer, you go with them." Whoa, what's he doing?

"I'm not leaving you," Seifer said quietly.

Squall gave him a look. "It's an order, Seifer."

"I don't _care_. I'm not leaving you."

"How about I go with Selphie," Zell suggested, "and y'all four go on that back-up plan thing? I mean, I take it that y'all know the way better than all of us do."

"Sounds good to me," I quickly agreed.

"Yeah," Quistis said after me. We left no room for Squall to argue. He scowled but didn't say anything more.

"Well, let's go, come on!" Selphie bounced around and out the door. She was cheerful as ever.

Seifer gave me a look that questioned, "What is wrong with Squall?" I shrugged. I didn't know.

I didn't. I really . . . oh hell.

I stopped fooling myself. I knew exactly what's wrong with Squall. No shit, I was there! Damn them two Galbadian bastards who lay cold upstairs. I just didn't expect it to turn so badly that he had completely shut off his emotions to protect himself. Protect his brain from breaking down because he knew, we all knew, that a breakdown during a time like this is disastrous. But . . .

But I really doubt he can last through this mess acting like that. He needed someone who can help him through this, and he's ruthlessly pushing that someone away. I couldn't help him. Quistis couldn't help him. He needed Seifer. And what he's doing right now was killing Seifer all over again. And then maybe kill himself in the process.

I sighed. I couldn't tell Seifer anything since it really wasn't my place. My eyes traveled aimlessly onto the shiny linoleum. The arrow that Squall pulled out lay there, headless.

I stared.

Oh. Wonderful.

* * *

**Zell:**

"HEY GUYS!"

I cringed. Geez Louize Selphie! Her yell not only got those Trabia people's attention, but several dozen G-soldiers swarmed at us, too. Another nasty fight at hand. Man.

And my neck still hurts like hell.

So I gulped down another Hi-Potion that Selphie stuffed into my hand. No choice but to throw myself at those ruthless machines of a person. They were so trained out of their humanity it's hard to label them as people anymore. Anger suddenly flared inside me.

I didn't know what they did to Squall, but it was bad. Really bad or he wouldn't revert back to the soulless iceberg he was two years ago. Yeah, I noticed. Know what I honestly think? Somebody just need to knock him on the head really hard and it'll all be okay again. It worked on several occasions before.

But right now I ain't got no time. I got two crazy machine guns shooting at me from two different directions. And I couldn't run or turn quickly because my neck was killin' me! So I just decide to screw all that and ducked and jumped on one soldier. Then I started beating on him.

The other one yelped and fell behind me. I knocked the soldier unconscious and saw that Selphie's nunchaku left the other one's skull open. I flashed her a smile before running off and selecting another target.

"Come, this way!" Quistis' voice yelled from the front. She and her group had cleared a path ahead. These soldiers are idiotic. Or seemed to be. Something's not right. You think among all these people there should be at least ten or twenty really good ones. Where're those weird stones they were throwing at me earlier? Maybe they're just . . .

_Rowwwwrrrrrrrrrr. _

What was that?

"Eeeekkkk!" Somebody shrieked. I think it's Jamaica, who's so ahead that I lost sight of her. I threw a soldier off to the wall and ran to catch up. I screeched at the corner, almost ran into Jeep, who just stood there with that long-handled knife in his hand and stared. I looked up.

_ROWWWWRRRRR! _

"Friggin' Hell!" I exclaimed.

It was a huge . . . thing. It looked machine-made, but it got that surreal feel, like Alexander. GF? I thought the veil didn't allow GF summoning. It sure didn't look like a GF. Looked like an overblown proportioned Shumi, with a big long tail.

And a steel stinger. Whoa.

"What in the fucking mind is that!" Seifer cursed. We were all pretty much blocked off our course. Seifer raised Hyperion and shot at the creature's head. Aimed perfectly, but the single brown eye saw the bullet and breathed. Yeah, _breathed_. And something invisible blocked the shot, melted the bullet into liquid and vanished it.

"Take it that's their Ace," Irvine muttered. "I knew those too easy battles mean something. Now what do we do?"

"We fight it," Squall stated. Man, snap out of it! I grunted and tried to draw something. Then I remembered the veil and almost stopped when a cold chill went inside me. Curaga.

I just drew. I just DREW? Whoa. The veil's lifted!

All right!

The others must've saw me taking in the magic. "Did, did you just draw?" Quistis asked in a bewildered voice.

"Yeah, baby!" I quickly casted the Curaga on my neck. Much better. Yes!

Squall didn't waste any time. He immediately turned around and started to summon Cerberus. I was prepared to get out Shiva. Then the creature waved its huge hand in a drawing motion toward Squall.

A loud whooshing sound followed. Something bright came out of Squall's body and vanished toward the creature's open mouth. Squall tensed then shook violently. Cerberus didn't appear. Wait, that stupid thing had absorbed Cerberus? Damn! I halted before my summoning was complete. I couldn't risk losing Shiva.

So we can get GF's but we can't use them. That helps absolutely nothing!

"Don't even try. They don't work." A voice came from the top of the creature. I recognized it to be Gen. Carraway's. "You think I lifted the veil to your advantage? Think again. X can eat your GF's up easily. Even when you're not summoning. Like this." He gestured and the creature bellowed. A huge net of colorful air flashed on top of us. Okay, I needed to get out of that thing if I want to keep my stuff!

"WATCH OUT!" Somebody shrieked again and I saw the tail flung up. It connected with Jen's head and slammed her against a wall. She stopped moving. Selphie tried to run toward her, but I dragged her down just as the tail swept again and knocked Irvine off his feet. The net that I was so intended on jumping away from landed on me and I felt my GF's being ripped straight out of my brain. Damn, that hurt! NOOOO!

The exact same thing was happening to the others. The creature breathed again. This time shards of molten glass flew out, hardening in the cold air in a fluid motion. Seifer dragged Squall away from the swarm, but Squal immediately shook of his hand and rolled away. What the heck! Man, I'm telling ya, that kid's gone insane. He's trying to avoid all help. That ain't healthy during a battle, no sir! During all this the tail swung once more and wrapped itself around Seifer, and squeezed so hard I swear I heard ribs crack. Seifer screamed.

"NO!" Quistis started to use her Blue Magic, which, thank GOD, still worked since it's Limit Break. Selphie got up from under me, and along with the help from Jocifer, attacked the tail so it loosened and recoiled. Seifer fell on the ground, coughing up more blood. The tail had lashed open his stomach again. Quistis threw a Hi-Potion in his direction.

This is crap. This is so fucked up! We had absolutely no junction whatsoever. And we're fighting this high tech GF and those pesky soldiers were still here!

The tail's stinger opened suddenly and streams of putrid acid shot out into us. It caught Jeep directly on his leg, he yelled in pain as an angry hiss ate away his clothing along with flesh. I covered my head and rolled away to the side of the fountain. It missed me.

It didn't miss Quistis.

I opened my eyes and saw her crouched in a corner, acid all over her arms. Jocifer was trying to pour Elixir on her while Jamaica finally woke Jen up. The beast roared and those shards flew out again, this time to a larger area. I jumped backwards, managed a somersault and landed on my feet. I was a pretty good distance away from everything by then. It seemed that the GF couldn't move from one spot easily and its target range wasn't exactly huge.

Everyone else was not so lucky. One extremely large piece of glass slashed the skin of Squall's bare back open, as if he hadn't had enough scars already. The creature waved its hand, casting something on Squall. I saw the muscles on his back became wire tight and the red blood turned tar black. He fell on his knees, struggled to stand up, then vomited. Poison.

DAMN IT! DAMN THEM! DAMN IT ALL!

I etched away from the huge mess of blood and sweat and poison. Don't call me chicken! I wasn't scared. No friggin' way. When have you ever seen Zell Dincht run from battle? It's just . . .

It's just that . . . if I don't do something different from these tough-against-tough kind of tactics, we ain't gonna make it. At least Squall ain't. We have nothing but our bare hands and some flimsy weapons. And we're fighting against an almost invincible, magic-casting, poison-spitting, son-of-a-gun-controlled Mega GF.

We're all gonna die!

Now if only I could make it to the Training Center and shut off the main power. It'd be at least dark and then we could all hide. Or escape. That's our objective, isn't it? To escape? The back-up plan should take care of the rest, whatever that's supposed to be. Power shutdown could buy us time, buy us cover, buy us our lives.

The creature was immobile in front of the curve of the Cafeteria. This Garden runs in a circle, so if I could run the other way I should be able to go to the Training Center from the other side. The only problem was all those G-soldiers littering in the hallway. Well, I got my fists and I was relatively unhurt, so let them come and eat dust!

Carraway seemed to be too focused on what's in front of him to notice my gradual retreat. Perfect. I slipped quietly along the curve of the fountain, not jumping in the water because it would make a loud splash and I couldn't use my fists while swimming. I made my way past the Quad, then broke into a furious run.

Time was something I didn't have. Any minute now Carraway could easily kill all of them with one tap of his hand. Then everything would be futile.

Everything.

Patches of G-soldier appeared ahead. OK, Dincht, your move.

"Hey, catch him!" Aha, bastards. Just you try.

I knocked my Ehrgeiz left and right, connecting with their helmets but nevertheless got 'em down. Between my somersaults, flips, and kicks, I managed to run to the Directory with relative ease. The soldiers weren't swarming at me like I thought. Great.

Here's the Library. Up ahead should be the Training Center. Come on Dincht! Now I felt like I did when I was running toward Balamb to get to Ma. Why do I always have the running job? And every time it's someone's life at stake.

I zoomed past more blotches of G-soldiers, who're very eager on chasing me and shooting at me, but I didn't stop. Augh! A bullet lodged in my left shoulder blade. Screw that!

I dashed in the Training Center's hall. The lush greens filled my views. There was no one here, not even a guard. Huh. Why not?

Pause for a second. Sit down. Take out my last Elixir that I'd been saving for some moment like this and pour it on the wound. The bullet needs to be taken care of after I get out. Afterwards, not now.

Get up. I started running again, to the Secret Area. Out of the corner of my eyes, something big and red emerged from the bushes.

T-Rexaur! Oh, no. Oh, crap!

That must've been the reason why there were no guards. Okay, time to hide somewhere. I had a job to do, and I couldn't become Rex meat before it's done. And I couldn't fight the Rex; I'd be so dead. I had absolutely nothing to fight it with.

I ducked and rolled into a thick bush. The T-Rexaur roared, sniffed around, and thumped its way toward me. I looked out and saw the door to the Secret Area wide open. And right beside it . . . was the fuse box.

The T-Rex just circled in front of me and kept on sniffing. I think it got my scent, but couldn't figure out where it was coming from. It didn't seem to be plannin' to leave soon . . .

No good. No good at all. I scratched my head. Distractions. Distractions. Um . . . yo! A rock!

I picked up the rock and heaved it heavily at the beast. It hit it squarely on the nose. Man, I'm good. The T-Rex roared and headed straight toward my direction. I quickly rolled around the shrubs until I saw a huge pair of feet crushing past me, into the thickets and continued to move further.

All right!

I jumped up in the air, ouch, shoulder and neck hurts. Ah, hell. Quickly I made my way to the fuse box and yanked it open. I grabbed the mess of wires and pulled all of them off the wall.

* * *


	10. Part V: Salvages (B)

**

* * *

**

Barbed Wire

Part V: Salvages

**Selphie:**

"This is your last chance, Leonhart, where is it?"

General Carraway's voice traveled from the top of the big monster thingy down to us. I winced at Squall, who was directly under the monster's tail. The stinger was pointed at his throat.

He's asking Squall that "it" again. I still didn't know what they're talking about. I was very close to find out, if only the radio had been kept on during the entire time that lady and General were in Squall's office. All I knew was that the lady stopped whipping Squall and gave her lieutenant some instructions, then Quistis crashed in our captive room and got all of us out. Some soldier shot the radio when they're trying to stop her, so I missed everything after that. We were thinking about going upstairs and rescue everyone when we saw Irvine and Squall dashed in a classroom further down the hall. So we all changed course and met there.

And now we're here.

Blocked off our way. All beat up but nowhere near defeated. No, I won't allow it! We could still fight!

Squall kept silent. I looked around and noticed that it got super quiet around here. Irvine was bandaging Quistis' wound from the acid spit; both of their eyes were fixed on Squall. So was Seifer's. His eyes looked weird, though; they had been like that ever since I saw him. Mai was damping Jen's forehead and wiping away drippy blood. Matt was grumbling while taking care of his wrist; I think he broke it. And I was peeling part of Steve's acid-eaten pants off so I could actually try to clean the wound, then use the last Elixir I had on him. He needed it more than I did. And Zell . . .

Zell?

Hey, where did he go?

"No?" General Carraway asked again.

Squall was trying hard to stay conscious. His skin looked absolutely blue and from every breath he took it looked like he was in pain. Poor baby! "You're going to have to kill me and ask me with Hades." He replied.

Seifer must've noticed how extremely strained Squall's voice was. He started to crawl to him, but stopped when the tail moved closer to Squall's slender throat as a warning. Bad tail. Hmm, I needed to get rid of it. I needed to throw something. Throw, throw, throw . . .

"Is that the case? Well then, you leave me no choice," General Carraway shrugged nonchalantly. "If I can't have the Energy Orb, then no one else will. Simple as that."

Energy Orb? That's what they're talking about. I figured it out now! Yeah!

What's an Energy Orb?

The tail suddenly coiled back up and the monster hissed. Seifer took that moment to dove next to Squall, whose eyes shut closed and collapsed. Seifer caught him, leaving a trail of red on the floor behind.

No no no no! They're going to get killed! I wanted to jump up and do my Limit Break and everything, but I felt myself glued from tiredness. I can't get tired! Not now!

"God have mercy, God have mercy." Mai mumbled as she and Jen came near me and Steve. "Let it be painless and quick. But please no dying. No dying yet . . ."

"Augh, shut up," Jen growled at her. "Take it like a girl!"

The monster hissed angrily again and took a huge breath. If the previous breaths were little and still wrecked us to this state, this one's humongous. Oh Lord, here we go. We're so going to die. I wasn't ready to die yet. I wasn't ready. We shouldn't. I mean . . .

Whoosh.

Augh!

Buzzzzzzzzz. Crackle. Pop.

Huh?

Heeeeyyyyyyyy! Why did all the lights go out? It's dark.

I couldn't see anything. Pitch black is no fun.

The monster suddenly stopped hissing and roared. But it didn't attack. Wait, maybe it requires light to attack. Yeah, because it had to focus on one target and then concentrate all its energy to that target, that's why it could do so much damage to us in the first place. So if there's no visual it pretty much couldn't do anything.

Brilliant plan! Who turned off the main power? Waitasecond, isn't main power's box somewhere in the Training Center? Everyone's here, except . . .

Zell! My Zelly, of course! He must've snuck away and shut off the power like Squall requested. I clapped once, then stopped when the monster roared again.

Okay, monster still here. But it couldn't see us. And we're in no condition to run and stab it or something like that because we couldn't see well and I really didn't think anyone had the energy left. So wouldn't it be wise if we –

"RUN!"

I didn't know who yelled that, but my body obeyed as soon as the message reached my head. I hopped up, bumped right into someone, and grabbed that person's wrist and started to run.

"Hey, where're we going?" It's Mai.

I was about to say "I don't know" when General Carraway's voice cut in again.

"Don't let them get away! Attack!"

Shuffles. Movements. Sounds of glass striking the floor.

Glass striking the floor? Glass . . . Yikes! The monster's just shooting off random destructions now? Move, move!

"Uh, Selph, which way?"

Good question. Uh, we're trying to get outside. Training Center leads to outside. To get to Training Center we needed to go past the monster, which was blocking the entire passageway. So by hallway we couldn't go forward. Backwards was way too long and I didn't trust anyone fighting in darkness against hoards of Galbadians. What's this ledge that my hands' rested on?

Fountain side! Water fountain! Circling water fountain!

"This way!" I said to Mai, quietly. Then I flipped over the edge and slipped in the water. She followed soundlessly.

Poo poo poo, uh-oh, stuff's falling in the water with us. It's behind us. And moving.

"Mai, swim as fast as you can!" I murmured to her. Then I started to swim like crazy. The water's not that deep, but it's manageable for swimming.

Ouch! Something grazed my left arm and the water stun my skin now. Faster faster!

"Ow!" Mai choked on some water. She's not that far back. Good.

Uh, where's Jen and Matt and Steve? I figured Seifer and the rest had gone to carry out that other plan they told us. But we Trabia Garden students all needed to get to the Training Center. Here's Mai. How did they get past the monster? Where _is_ the monster?

I didn't like this total darkness idea too much now.

Splash splash splash. Huh? That's not me or Mai. "Who's down here?" I hissed back.

"It's the rest of us!" Mai exclaimed. A little too loudly. More roar from the big bad beastie. I heard Jen shush her from behind.

So we're all swimming furiously now? You know, if I wasn't scared out of my wits for fear of my short life being cut even shorter, this whole situation was pretty funny. Swimming in the Garden fountain was unheard of. Unless you count . . . uh, no.

"Um, Selph?" Mai again. "Where's the Training Center?"

"Right after the dorms!" I replied.

"No, I mean, where do we stop?"

Oops.

"HEY, YOU PEOPLE! THIS WAY!"

It's Zell's voice. Yeah! I immediately stopped, causing Mai to bump into me. I jumped over the ledge and raced toward the sound. I vaguely saw a door connected with a hallway, glowing green. Training Center!

And gunfire and more glass shards. Need to move faster still! My legs' tired.

"Wait up! Where are y'all?" Steve hollered from behind, which only invited more gunfire and more roaring. The monster thingy hadn't move, though. It couldn't move?

"Right here!" Mai called back. Wet floppy sound grazed the floor. We're all soaked to the bone. Water's cold.

We smashed into the Training Center's lush hallway. All were stumbling and pretty much out of breath. I looked back and saw Mai had slowed down next to Steve and helping him along, because he was limping pretty badly. Jen's head was bleeding again. Matt's arm was awkward looking; left wrist definitely broken. My own feet were killing me, especially my ankles. We're a nice lot.

Oof, I stumbled as my feet gave out under me. Yikes, hard linoleum incoming.

But instead, I landed right into Zell's arms. It was like a big human cushion and it felt very . . . nice. I looked up and saw him smiling. "You okay?" He asked.

I nodded. "Uh-huh." I then looked back at my friends. They were all right behind me. I turned back to Zell. "Let's go."

"Yeah, let's seriously get out of here. I'm discovering that I certainly am allergic to Balamb, in all senses." Jen huffed.

"Hey, be nice," Mai told her. "But you're right in a way, we need to seriously get out."

"Well, come on, it's right ahead." Zell gestured further into the jungle. We all followed him closely toward the Secret Area. Whee, I'm getting out!

We zoomed past the vegetation, straight to the SA. Zell pushed open the grey door and the humid night air greeted us full blast. It felt soooooo great! I took in a deep breath. Being cooped up in one building for a whole day is like living without sunshine. The sun had just sunk below the horizon. Pretty!

"Yes! Freedom!" Mai exclaimed loudly.

"It's . . . a balcony. So how do we do this?" Jen questioned. "We jump?"

I looked at her. Yeah, of course. Jump. It's not that high off the ground. The Garden wasn't flying.

"Let me make one small suggestion, though," Steve looked down from the ledge. "We should partner up. We're all in bad shape, and this jump is kinda high. Just in case, you know, Imp."

"Imp?" Zell frowned.

"Like, you never know when they'll pop up and if they do, they're quite deadly." Mai translated. "I agree. So you're my honored partner, Jee."

Steve beamed. Aha, I knew there's something going on with those two! Tee-hee.

A hand closed on mine. Zell. He dragged me up the ledge and we looked down at the ground. Once we jump down, the Esthar soldiers were just a few meters away from the parameter. We could definitely hold off those patrolling Galbadians far enough to be greeted by friends.

"Ready?" Zell asked.

"As I'll ever be." I replied.

He grinned and leaned over, placed a light kiss on my temple, and hopped off the ledge. I felt myself being tugged, and gladly followed down.

Wheeeeeeeee!

* * *

**Quistis:**

I stumbled into the dark halls, feeling my way with my hands tightly around the curve of the walls. I knew the Dormitory was ahead. Room number, what was it? 148. That's right. It should be somewhere further to the left . . .

A rapid succession of gunfire forced me to stop wandering and clung to the surface. Bullets grazed past me, missing by millimeters. I etched forward, only to feel a deep pain invading my left arm. Oh!

Someone grabbed my wrist from behind and yanked me suddenly into an open doorway. Open? Before I could protest, I was already in the room and lying on the floor. He landed on top of me and whispered in my ear, "Boo!"

Ugh, I groaned. Irvine. "Get off me. You scared the living daylights out of me!"

He chuckled. "I yelled 'run', dear, not 'run toward the gunfire which can promptly kill you.' "

"Oh, shut up."

"Quistis? Irvine?"

We both jumped and Irvine flew off at the sound of that interruption. I heard him fumbling with something and a second later, a faint light glowered in the room. The flashlight beam landed on Seifer's blood-soaked form, with a still unconscious Squall beside him.

"I knew there's a reason that door's open," Irvine grumbled. "Isn't this a nice big coincidence?"

"Nice thought, Kinneas, I left it accessible for you." Seifer smirked and got up. He walked to the door, punched in a few numbers, then the door clicked. Ah, Squall's bypass code to everything. It suddenly occurred to me that Seifer knew more than anyone, save Squall, about the Garden.

The idea was . . . comforting. I almost smiled, until I realized what I was doing and stopped myself midway. Now was not a time to be pleased about.

"Girl, your arm's still bleeding," Irvine informed me quietly.

Oh, well, that could be taken care of easily. Once I find some light, that is. "Can we have more light?"

"No, the Galbadians would –"

"Of course,"

Irvine gazed at Seifer questioningly. "Isn't the power totally gone?"

"We have a very sufficient back-up system, which the Galbadian bastards will never find." Seifer smirked again. "You just have to know the code to use it."

At that, he walked to the code box again and typed in something else. Immediately, a faint but very satisfactory light came on in the room. The brightness disturbed Squall, who woke up and rubbed his eyes.

I looked around the room now. It was a regular double dorm room, belonged to two male students, apparently. I took off the jacket I wore, exposing the layered bandages on my chest. I dumped all my items on the floor. Time for some doctor business. We all have to patch up before venturing further into our mission.

"What're you doing?" Seifer came and crawled next to me. More like dropped; he was tired. That and there was a huge gash in the middle of his torso. The blood had already clotted.

"Playing doctor, what do you think she's doing?" Irvine dumped all his remaining items on top of my pile, along with the bandages he brought. I was very glad that he brought enough gauzes and things. "Yours, too." He said to Seifer.

We had more items left than I had thought. At least for now. I removed a small scalpel and a tweezer from my belt, then proceeded to take out the bullet that lodged in my left arm. It wasn't deep, so I got hold of it quite easily and started to remove it. The pain was bearable, but I still received astonished looks from the men in the room. It's kind of funny that they're this squeamish.

"Do you always do things this way?" Seifer asked.

"Of course, I'm the doctor's assistant." I shrugged as I put the bullet on the floor. "I'm used to this."

I looked around for an Elixir, but Irvine took my arm in his hands. He poured the Elixir fluidly on my wound. The pain disappeared and my skin closed, leaving nothing on the skin but a bluish bruise. I smiled and kissed him on his nose. He moved and captured my mouth with his own. I was lost in the kiss for a minute before I remembered how wrong the timing was. I pulled back, still smiling, and started to gather up some items.

"Take care of Seifer. I'll care for Squall." I instructed Irvine.

He raises his eyebrows. "Why should I shoulder the responsibility for this dimwit?"

"Don't value yourself so high, cowboy, it's not like I'm whooping with joy." Seifer frowned.

"Because," I cut in before their insults start again, "Squall's case is more severe. And judging from you two's bickering, you're both fine."

Seifer scoffed. Irvine smiled a little; he understood me. My big sister attitude for Squall made me determined to find out what was wrong. He hadn't spoken this entire time, probably not even in his own head like he usually does. That itself spelled trouble. I inched next to him and dropped the items by his feet.

"Here," I handed him a Remedy. "Drink this. You look terrible."

"I feel like shit," he retorted, snatching the bottle from me and downed it in one gulp. The black tint on his torso lightened and faded into normal skin color. Detoxified. That's taken care off. Good.

"Lie on your stomach," I told him.

Squall looked at me and raised one eyebrow. If I hadn't know that he's gay and in love with someone, and I wasn't in love with someone myself, and the circumstances were different, that expression could be misinterpreted into a sign of seduction.

His eyes, however, were still blank, like empty glass. I sighed at that thought. "Lie on your stomach and let me get the arrowhead out."

This time he looked surprised, "You saw that?"

"No," I told him truthfully, "Irvine told me."

He nodded slightly, then complied. I winced when I saw the numerous scars on his body, and the dried blood around the hole where the arrowhead had sunk. I took my scalpel and chipped away the blood clot, which caused fresh blood to again start flowing. That couldn't be helped. I then took my tweezer and was prepared to use the same method to retrieve the arrowhead as I did to the bullet.

Except this time, when the metal sunk into the wound, Squall audibly gasped out loud. His whole body tensed. Knowing Squall, that pain must've been severe.

But it shouldn't be. It shouldn't be any more painful than what I had gone through, which really wasn't much if you ignore my companion's expressions.

"Fuck!" Irvine suddenly exclaimed. I paused and immediately withdrew my tweezer. "I should've suspected it! I should've!"

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Seifer frowned. He was half bandaged up and holding a bottle of Potion for Irvine's arm. It's evident he heard Squall's gasp, even though we're on the opposite end of the room, and was as concerned about it as I was.

"It's Anaconda. The arrows they shot at us are Model 7T1 Anaconda, Series F." Irvine's eyes met mine. "Once struck, the head stays in no matter how you pull the arrow. The head then connects with the central nervous system, drain the host's life essence. That's why when launched it was aimed directly toward the spine. In this case, thank gracious, the arrow missed it by several centimeters. But, any attempt to remove it would tug at the nerve cord and cause tremendous pain; purposely designed that way. Quistis, you need some anesthetics. You _really_ do."

Which we did not have any access to. "Irvine, you know there's no way I –"

"Just get it out."

Squall's flat voice sent chillbumps down my body. He sounded as if it's the most boring topic in the world. He was not just ignoring his body's signals; he was downright abusing them. He wanted to feel pain. Why? Why?

My heart wrenched. I love him like a brother, and he was as close to family as I could get. Now it's like he's destroying himself. What was he trying to prove? That he is stronger than what the world had done to him? What had the world done to him?

My mistake, what had happened in the so-called interrogation room? I knew Carraway chained him in there and asked him for the Energy Orb. But in what way, I did not have a clue. Irvine, should.

I shook my head and took a deep breath. I am a doctor. I had a duty to fill at that moment. Not pondering emotional causes and effects. The physical needed to be healed first.

"Come on, we don't have all night," Squall frowned at me. All right, all right.

I blotted everything away from my mind except my goal – to get the arrowhead out. I reinserted the tweezer into the open wound, deep. I was well aware the tremor that passed through Squall's body. I ignored it. What else could I do?

My tweezer's tip touched something hard. The tissue and bones didn't feel that way. Another solid grip confirmed my guess. The arrowhead seemed to have a life of its own, though, for it planted firm and would not move. I fused my eyebrows together, tightly pressed the two pieces of metal against the escaping triangle. Slowly I withdrew my hand, hearing the gurgling sound of tissue depart, seeing the sudden surges of blood spraying on the floor, feeling the raw disgusting pain that's tearing up my own heart, and ignoring all of them.

Ignoring the apprehension that this was hurting Squall like ripping the notochord straight out of his spine. Ignoring the fact he was breathing, no, wheezing because of that pain. Ignoring the fact that he was still silent, as if he wanted to hold all the sensation inside. And his shiny back from the cold slick sweat. And the blood dripping from his mouth, onto the floor in front of him.

Ignore it. You're a doctor. You need to. You have to.

I finally tore the stubborn piece of intrusion away from the flesh and dropped it on the floor. Blinking away the stray tears, I opened an Elixir and poured it on Squall's back. I gently turned him around and pulled him into a sitting position. His hair was plastered on his forehead from sweat. I wiped away some wetness with a bandaging cloth. Then I looked at his face. Any relief that came from the removal of the arrowhead vanished without a trace.

I realized I couldn't do it anymore. I couldn't stand the absolute nothingness in his eyes. I couldn't stand it! I offered the roll of bandages to Seifer from across the room. "Here, I . . . I . . . just take this."

I practically ran toward Irvine's side after Seifer got the roll. I was nauseated, I was frightened, I was confused. Irvine wrapped me in a hug and whispered comforting words in my ear. Why was I so taken aback? Something in Squall's eyes, lacking in them. I was totally obsessed with his dead look. It haunted me.

A word perked in my ear when Irvine said it. I pulled back and stared at him. Say that one more time.

He repeated it. So softly that only I could hear it. I think he intentionally did not want Seifer to know.

It was not his place to tell him.

It was Squall's.

Or Seifer's own mind's.

We could do nothing but wait. And watch. As Seifer approached Squall, who didn't even acknowledge his presence, not even when Seifer started to wrap the bandages around him.

I understood then.

I disentangled myself from Irvine. I leaned against the cool wall and watched the other two.

We needed Squall back.

And only Seifer could do it.

* * *

**Seifer:**

"What the fuck is your problem!"

I exclaimed as he pushed me away. I finished half of what I was bandaging, but he ripped the cloth off when I was going above his stomach. He would not let me go anywhere near his upper portion. What the fuck!

He didn't answer. That's a surprise. I grabbed his arm so he faced me, and said again. "Squall! What's wrong, besides the obvious?"

"Why do you care?" He scoffed.

Why do I care? _Why do I care?_ Ha, what kind of fucked up question is that? "You . . ." I was speechless for once. Okay, he needed to snap out of it. Now.

He's been like this ever since I came back from the dead. There was this . . . mechanical feel to every single thing he had done to me after that. The bandaging. The protecting. The ordering. All fucking monotonous routines. And it's driving me crazy!

Something's missing here. Something _I'm_ missing. Some minor detail that you just skim over because it blends well with the surroundings but nevertheless is discernable if you actually notice it. I checked Squall over from head to toe for the nth time. Bruises and scars. Nothing but those and . . .

Then I saw it.

A strange looking mark on Squall's neck. No, not completely strange, familiar. I had a hunch what it was, but if that really was it then it certainly wasn't me who had done it. I cocked my head and reached toward his neck.

He slapped my hand away immediately and scrambled up in haste. Bingo. Heh, he's not getting away from me this time. I clamped my other hand around his wrist and dragged him back down. He kicked, not viciously but nevertheless kicked, at my leg. I caught his ankles and pushed it away. He wouldn't stay still, so I just climbed on top of him and held his legs down with my own.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Quistis getting up. Probably to stop us. But Irvine made her sit down again. I was glad. This fight was inevitable.

Squall was getting mildly frantic. His fists landed on me from everywhere, except where I was bandaged. I smirked inwardly. I grabbed his wrists and shoved them away from his body, down on the floor like I did that night on the wall. Was it only three days ago? Felt like ages.

Without warning, Squall somehow picked up his knee and slammed it into my groin. I gasped in pain and loosened my grip. He used that chance to half sit up from under me and pushed me with all his might.

I wasn't going to let him leave. Oh, no, sir, once he get out of my grip he'd be gone. I won't have that. Plus, that _hurts_! Seifer Almasy does not take a hurt like that without responding. So I picked up my fist and slugged him across the face.

The impact was pretty heavy, for he was knocked around and had to brace himself with his hands. Angrily he turned back, and I slugged him again, this time to the other direction. Two solid knocks probably got some wind out of him, because the next thing I realized I was staring at his eyes again. He was just lying there, dazed. Not fighting back. His eyes on the borderline of shock, full of anger.

But the fury did not last long. Squall blinked, seeming to gather his bearings. He shook his head, closed his eyes, then reopened them. I think my breathing stopped when the blue light poured again onto me. His eyes were stormy.

Not vacant glass. Not brick walls. Stormy. Emotions swirled around those piercing pupils in intricate patterns that I knew so well. They washed away the emptiness and brought back the sea of life. Relief flooded into me. I let go of a heavy sigh, and grinned. I released his hands and put my forehead onto his bare shoulder.

He's back.

God Damn it took a long time.

I slid off of him. Squall's lips were stained with blood, caused by me, evidently. He smiled bitterly, "Well."

"Don't EVER do that to me again." I told him. "Do you know how worried I was? You jumping around trying to fucking kill yourself while I watched. It's worse than me being dead!"

"I'm sorry," he apologized quietly, avoiding my eyes. I extended my hand, gently tilting his face toward me with my fingers, making him to look at me. My fingers traced down his jawbone, and landed once again on that strange-looking bruise.

Squall flinched. I thought he was gonna freak out and back away, but he sighed and closed his eyes, permitting me to do what I wanted. I inspected the wound more closely. I saw darker areas resembling teeth patterns in the midst of the swelling. My eyes narrowed and I grinded my teeth.

I'm not naïve. Hell, I ran the Galbadian Army once before, I certainly knew what a really bored G-soldier do in his spare time. And sometimes he do it even if he's not bored, but for the fun of it. Whichever motherfucker did this probably did it just because he can. Bullshit.

"Where else did they touch you?" I asked in a surprisingly calm voice. I even astonished myself. I mean, I thought I'd scream that out in rage. Nope.

"Nothing happened." He answered indirectly.

"Bullshit. I don't want to find this the hard way, Squall."

He rolled his eyes. "Nothing happened, Seifer. Irvine came and got me right after they –"

"Right after they?"

"Would you just let it go!" He kicked me completely off of him. "Why are you even asking me this? What, you worried that I won't be pure enough for you or something?"

"No! I just think I deserve to know."

"Well, you don't."

Okay, not getting anywhere. So I backed off and tried a different strategy. "All right, all right. But at least let me finish bandaging you up."

He seemed to buy that and relaxed. I picked the roll of cloth back up and started where I left off. My eyes never left his neck though. I let my gaze travel down from where the bruise was and through his body. I paused in my excuse of bandaging when I noticed another set of teeth marks on his nipples. Looked deep enough to cause bleeding. I seethed.

Squall sighed softly. He took the white cloth from my hands and finished off the bandaging quickly. I secured the ending, still fuming inside. He pondered for a moment, then leaned over and put his chin on my shoulder. "Look, just forget it." He said in my ear. "It's the past. You can't change it."

I placed my lips on his tender neck and started a string of kisses along it. Soon he turned and we started playing tonsil hockey with our eyes closed. This is what we should've been doing back in that classroom however long time ago, when he first revived me. Not waiting this many battles after and stuck in a little dorm room. It's quiet, though, so it wasn't that bad.

I realized suddenly how tired I was. How tired he seemed. We both needed to go somewhere and . . . well, give in to whatever our body was screaming for us to do. And not worry about the Galbadians outside. Or how to get out of here alive. I wanted so badly just to roll him on the dorm bed, strip him naked, and make love to him. Right then. At that exact moment.

He tasted good. Even under the faint blood flavor from the cuts in his mouth he still tasted like the way he did every time I kiss him. Addictive. Sweet. I could never get enough of it.

"Ahem."

The moment, however, was disturbed from a light cough originated from the door. I stopped and withdrew my tongue, then glared at Kinneas, who was smirking his little ass off. "Um, glad to see y'all made up and all, but, there's still this little problem of people trying to kill us and if they find us here, they certainly will."

Squall smiled. He gave me a quick kiss on my cheek, then stood up. He walked over to Kinneas and offered a hand to him. "I'm sorry. About everything that I had done for the past hour or so. You, too, Quistis."

"Yeah, it's cool. Just don't do it again or I think we're all gonna have strokes by the time we step out the door." Irvine took his hand and stood up.

"You okay?" Quistis asked. "Physically."

"Yeah," he answered. "I'm fine."

I stood up, too. I walked up to them and put my arm around Squall's waist. I leaned over his shoulder to raise my eyebrows at Quistis. "And what have you been doing while we were occupied, huh?"

"Watching a really good romantic movie with a really good friend." She crossed her arms. "And wondering which way should I go to get to room 148."

"Augh," Squall replied. "and this 'friend' of yours also happen to be a good – ow!" he twitched suddenly. I looked right and saw Kinneas pinched his arm. He was holding a shirt in his other hand.

"Hey, now, only I'm allowed to hurt him." I warned Irvine. "Don't touch my boyfriend."

"Your boyfriend started it." Irvine replied. "Here, put this on. You need at least some sort of protection. And you," he turned to me, "still need to get fixed."

"I do not." I let go of Squall so he could slip on the shirt. "Where did you get this shirt anyway?"

"Closet." He pointed to the back. "And yes you do, I wasn't finished with that roll of bandages on you, yet."

Oh, the big gash on my stomach. Okay. Yeah, maybe I could use a few extra padding there. Just a few. I had forgotten about it.

"I'll do it," Squall volunteered.

"Uh, no, if you do it, it may take us another hour to get out." Irvine replied. Damn him. "Plus, I think Quistis here need to check you up again. Mother hen."

"Am not," she pouted. But she did take Squall aside to the other corner of the room so they could figure out how to distribute the remaining items. Irvine took the bandage and started to wrap me up.

"Squall wasn't lying." He said to me in an almost inaudible voice. "Nothing happened."

Ah, so that's why he wanted Squall out of the way. Clever. "Oh?" was all I said.

"Yeah, but he had shut off his mind anyway when he got spooked. And he did get spooked. Hence the rest of his suicidal battle strategies. But all there was were the bruises you saw. Nothing more."

"Why are you telling me this?"

He smiled slightly. "Thought you might want to know. So now you know you can stop trying to make him tell you about it. He wouldn't want to remember."

I gave him a look as Irvine finished safe-ending the cloth.

"Don't give me that look. You know why."

"Why?" I _know_ why?

He shrugged. "'Cause we're family and family stick together."

And 'cause you cared about Squall more than you dare to say. Yes, Kinneas, you do.

* * *

**Squall:**

"We have three Elixirs, one Megalixir, four Potions, and two Hi-Potions left. Along with a couple Remedies. Oh, and here's a Protect Stone and a Meteor Stone. Anything else you got?"

I looked at the small pile of items on the floor. We hadn't got much left to spare. "Um, no. I think this is it."

Quistis smiled bitterly. "Well, let's split this and get out of here."

I then turned toward the other two. Whoa, is it me or they're getting friendly? Usually you can't put those two in the same room without somebody throwing a fist. And even then, they tend to stay on the opposite ends. I raised an eyebrow in interest.

Quistis nudged my arm. "They're just talking about you, nothing else."

"Me?" How did she hear them? Probably some GF ability.

She slightly shook her head, her short hair slid across her shoulders. Why did she cut her hair? Things were so hectic that I did not even wonder about that until now. "Irvine cares a lot about you, you know. He respects you more than anyone else. Why did you think he stopped you and Seifer that night at the Triangle?"

"He told you about that, too?" I was thoroughly surprised. We were just messing around, it wasn't even my idea. The Elixir I was packing slipped from my fingers.

Quistis caught it in one quick motion. "He knew you were just freaking and he respects you too much to let you do that. You _or_ Seifer." She looked at the other side of the room distractedly. "He needs to tell people stuff sometimes." She turned again to me. "A little less like you would be better."

"Jealous?" I teased.

"Ha ha," She laughed out loud. "I said respect, Headmaster, and it means only 'respect.'"

"Ah," I nodded knowingly. I stuck the last Remedy inside my pocket. Just then I turned my gaze toward the door and noticed that the other two men were staring at me and Quistis intently. "Problem?"

"They're jealous of us, can't you tell?" Quistis' voice turned into amusement. "They're scared we're going to run off with each other and desert them here."

Seifer rolled his eyes. Irvine grinned and walked up to us. "What you got left for us?" He asked Quistis.

"For you, a Remedy, two Potions, a Meteor Stone, and the only Megalixir. I don't trust either one of them with it and I can't carry it. I have bigger things to worry about." She gave him the items.

"You don't trust me?" I pretended to be offended.

She gave me a look. "I need someone who's relatively emotionally stable so he could preserve a calm mind as when to use this as a last minute resort. "

"And you think Kinneas is emotionally stable." Seifer snickered.

"Better than you'll ever be." Irvine replied. Here we go again. I scoffed and stepped toward the door.

"We better go," I said. "Time is still running."

Fortunately they all agreed with me because it was very true. We checked ourselves one more time to make sure we had at least a half-half chance of making it out alive. I wrapped the shirt tighter around myself. The wounds were hurting quite piercingly now. I let a flicker of a frown cross my brows.

Seifer didn't miss it. He used the opportunity of passing me my gunblade to lightly squeeze my hand in assurance. I returned it, knowing he wasn't much better off than I.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Irvine took some liquid out of his pocket and gave it to Quistis. She looked quite surprised, but she smiled afterwards and drank it. It looked like lysander fluids, but I wasn't sure since I didn't examine it in detail. I shrugged it off. I didn't have time to worry about why Quistis would need lysander.

"Which way is to room 148?" Quistis asked me.

I thought for minute. "Left, 3 doors down."

"Five doors down," Seifer corrected me. "Forgot my room number already?"

"Wait, this is _your_ room?" Irvine glared at Seifer. "That's why the shirt I picked up looked kinda familiar. So Seifer, you don't need an override code to use this room, right?"

"Shut up, shut up." Seifer mumbled. Override code? _My_ master override code? Since when did Seifer know _that_?

"Did you steal my code from me?" I narrowed my eyes. Didn't matter if he's my boyfriend, _no one_ can have my master code except me. Seifer with that code spells trouble with capital letters on everything including the shadows.

"No, I was . . . "he scratched his head. "You know, bluffing a little."

I rolled my eyes. Him and his ego. I was relieved that he didn't really have it. I cocked my gunblade and slung it over my side, "Okay, people, let's go."

Quistis slid next to me. "We're going to make it, right?" She quietly whispered. I felt her shaking slightly.

"Yeah," I assured her. My fingers worked deftly on the control pad and the door hissed open a second later. What welcomed us was the dark and empty hallway. Empty's good.

I crept beside the cold wall. A couple of steps further the door hissed closed. We're all out. I waited a few moments for my eye to adjust to the total blackness. Then I started running.

And tripped on some thin wire that's been strategically placed by the G-soldiers. Smart. I felt myself tumbled on the floor, scraping my knees. Soldiers swarmed us. Gunfire rang in my ears. I rolled and slashed without aiming. I hit someone and heard his yell of pain.

"Watch out!" Quistis screamed. I couldn't see what was happening, but I saw the large fire wave nonetheless. I turned immediately and covered my head. A burning sensation swept past me, triggering my wounds to amplify in pain. I looked ahead, focusing on the increasing numbers of soldiers. We're going to have a tough fight. But we couldn't go back. What door was it already?

Room 144. One more door and it'll be it. Irvine's Exeter sounded next to my ear and I jumped. Everyone else had gotten ahead of me somehow. I then turned around to see what he was shooting at.

Or rather, who. Carraway's wife triumphantly stood a few paces behind me. She was smiling at something. I was about to turn and fight a road to number 148 when I heard her calling my name.

"I wouldn't go that way if I were you." She projected her voice evenly. "Someone's missing."

What?

"Ohmigod!" Quistis gasped beside me. I saw a figure stumbled in between the woman and me. Seifer! She got a long rope around his neck. Not again. Not AGAIN!

"I see you brought him back. Well, this time I'm going to make sure he does _not_ come back. You dare to test me?" She raised her hand, holding a gun. "I'll also make sure he dies a painful death."

I took in a breath. Quistis threw down her Protect Stone. A shield formed around herself. What was she planning? I looked questioningly at her. She simply looked at the circles of soldiers around us. Irvine was incredibly calm, too. His eyes were locked on the woman. Aiming, I realized.

Bang! The gun in the woman's hand fired. Seifer yelled in pain as the bullet went through his right leg. He crumbled to his knees as blood splattered in black spurts. "Enough time!" She hollered. "Decide now!"

My eyes narrowed. I held the Lion Heart tightly. Both Irvine and Quistis were ready for my answer. They knew what it was, they just had to hear it. A signal.

"No!"

Irvine's gunshot ran out just as Quistis started to glow. The bullet from the Exeter went through the woman's chest, dead center. She gurgled and her breath hitched. Quistis turned as she charged up her Shockwave Pulsar. I jumped and somersaulted next to Seifer, just as the shockwave passed me and knocked down the large swarm of soldiers. I sliced the rope and began to haul him to his feet. He pushed me off.

"Go!" He told me. "I can't walk and I'm too heavy for you, go!"

"You seriously don't believe I'm going to let you stay here and die from poison gas, do you?" I ignored his plea and put one of his arms around my shoulder. I wasn't sure I could pull this off because he was right about the heavy thing. Whatever! I needed to at least try.

"Squall, you crazy shit, quit it!" He grimaced in my ear. "Go!"

His weight suddenly became much lighter. I looked over and saw Irvine sliding on his other side. "I got him," he told me. "Get ahead and clear a path."

"You sure?" I was hesitant.

"Yes. Come on, Headmaster!" At that, I let go of Seifer's arm and started to clear a path for them. Quistis had vanished, probably already in the room with the backup plan going. The soldiers were littering now; her Shockwave Pulsar destroyed the majority.

"You're both crazy psychos . . . "

"Shut up and just lean on me, Seifer," Irvine said impatiently. "I'm not paid enough to save both of your asses."

They'll be all right.

I dashed toward the door with what energy I had left. My leg felt like its been filled with lead. I could use some water right now. Ignore that. I licked my cracked lips, aimed my gun to bring down a few soldiers from this sector. They probably had reinforcements on the way. I looked back and saw the two figures coming steadily.

I crashed into the room, startling Quistis from her position on the far wall. "It's me, it's me!" I said quickly. She sighed in relief and put down a gun, apparently picked up from some Galbadians.

"My gosh, I could've shot you, Squall! Everything's ready. Where's . . .?"

"Right here!" Irvine's voice clashed through with me from the hallway.

Quistis nodded. She punched in several buttons and the door jammed shut. Double guarded. She then pulled open a side door behind the bookshelf. Streams of vanishing sunlight poured through. Scent of grass and the woods tingled my nostrils.

Beautiful.

I felt my head being grabbed and soon a pair of hungry lips gave me a full kiss. He broke it a few moments later, his eyes glittering green. I smiled. Then I turned to the outside, where Quistis was motioning for us to hurry. She's grinning.

We're finally out of this dungeon. I didn't know 24 hours could feel this long. We shuffled out the small side door. Quistis turned, pulled the door shut, and typed in another code from the outside. Total lockdown. Every entrance was locked.

No one leaves or enters.

The Galbadians would have five more minutes of life. Then all would be gone. How many lives were that?

I had no more time to wonder when the guards around the Garden started to shoot at us. I spun around and ran. I didn't bother with return fire; my gunblade was out anyway. I simply ran toward the woods. Behind me, three shots ran consecutively into the empty sky.

I didn't stop. To think. To act. To do anything. I didn't stop running until I saw the flashes of Estharian uniforms appear from behind the trees. I didn't stop until I made sure I cleared the field.

Then I dropped. Stone on the ground. I lay on my back, staring at the early evening sky, littered with faint stars. My eyes shut close. And I slipped from consciousness with my heartbeat slowing to an agreeable frequency.

I really needed a vacation.

* * *


	11. Part VI: Aftermaths

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* * *

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Barbed Wire

Part VI: Aftermaths

**Quistis:**

"Wake up, sleepyhead, we're almost there."

I yawn and shuffle around a little before I open my eyes. The red ceiling of the Ragnarok comes into view. I recognize my surroundings, and a smile sweeps my face.

"Good sleep?" Irvine's voice booms next to my ear. I shift in his embrace to settle my head more comfortably on his chest. I then stretch my legs out so that they rest very cozily on the arm of the sofa we are reclining on.

"Yeah," I reply lazily. "Why weren't you asleep?"

"I was. _They_ woke me up, as usual." Irvine says to the chair diagonally across from us.

"Oh, shut up." Seifer retorts. "We weren't making a sound, cowboy. And you weren't sleeping so stop pointing fingers."

"Shhh, are you going to develop an allergic reaction if you two don't bicker every minute you're awake?" Squall runs his hand through his hair.

"Hey, we used to do that," says Seifer.

"Used to. If _we_ can get past it, I'm sure you two can." Squall stands up from his seat. "What time is it?"

"Two o'clock," I reply. We had been traveling for about two hours now. We should be in Esthar in another hour or so. It normally takes about twenty minutes to get from Balamb to Esthar with the Ragnarok, but Selphie specifically set the speed so it will take longer. To us, the trip to there is half the fun. Plus, we want to rest a little before getting thrown into Laguna's frenzy. Nothing against Laguna, but he can never stand still and has already said he "got big plan for all of us." It creeps me out sometimes how unusual his idea of fun is.

It is one week after that night when Mrs. Dincht first got sick. Three days after the total purging of the Garden. One day after everything returned to normal, or relatively normal considering the damage we have endured. It is quite frightening when you think about it. From the first moment I ran out the Garden to Mrs. Dincht's house to my last step across the field after I shut the side door in Room 148, the total process took up less than four days. That's not even 100 hours.

It seems longer than two lifetimes.

The back-up system worked wonderfully. Should I even use that adjective to describe it? The entire Galbadian Army inside the Garden was wiped out in less than five minutes. General Carraway is dead. So is his new wife. In fact, that is why Rinoa is not here at present. She's back in Deling City, organizing a funeral and trying to figure out what to do with the nation of Galbadia. Rumor has it she may become the next leader. I'm not sure she wants to do it. I certainly wouldn't.

The good news is that we have Balamb Garden back in one piece and under control again. The bad news is the casualty number, from both sides. How horrible the scene before our eyes was as we re-entered the Garden when the gas had cleared! Monstrous.

But it was war. War cannot be helped sometimes. No matter how many fences you put up, someday they are going to be trampled down by a greater force. And the reality will sink in, whether good or bad.

We're all trying to convince ourselves that we did the right thing. I mean, we did. If we had not eliminated them, General Carraway would have found the Energy Orb and use it to destroy pretty much the entire world as we know it. I just wish there were some options other than the one we were dealt.

"You're thinking about it again, aren't you?" Irvine's whisper jolts me away from the daydream. "Look, hon, we had no other choice. How else could we pull this off? If I have to do it all over again, I will. Stop blaming yourself."

I sigh in content. People say everything happens for a reason. I disagree. I think things happen simply to happen. Luck, chance, our own abilities, whatever you call it.

Nevertheless, we all survived.

Zell has, indeed, seriously injured his neck. Although the Curagas and such we used have eliminated any permanent damage, as of the moment he is wearing a neck brace. He's upstairs in the control room with Selphie, who probably has permanent scars on her ankles for life. She's relatively unhurt, which is fantastic.

The Junk Yard has all returned to Trabia. None seriously injured. They've proven excellent fighters and may become great allies for us in the future. But I'm not quite counting on it. At least half of them dislike us to a degree that they wouldn't mind never seeing any of us again. The incident with Galbadia doesn't help much, either.

Dr. Kadowaki has officially retired. She told us the news yesterday, saying she's too old to handle anything after this invasion. Squall let her go. So now I am legitimately the doctor of Balamb Garden and in charge of the Infirmary. Mrs. Dincht has recovered completely after the dose of newly condensed Heroes; apparently Jen was very prepared and brought extras just in case.

I myself am fine. My hair is cut short, but it will grow out very quickly. There will always be hideous scars on my chest. I can live with that. It's not interfering with anything else. Irvine escaped without much injury. That's why I'm lying on top of him now. Or I'd be at least sitting.

My scars are nothing compared to what Squall has acquired through the ordeal. He has been through so much that it pains me to look at him now. I'm very very relieved that he at least has Seifer. The bullet that went through Seifer's right leg shattered his kneecap and pierced through the femur at an angle. We all thought the leg was ruined, but thank the lords in heaven it is not. He carries a cane now, and will have to use it for at least another couple of months. As much as Seifer hates it, if he still wants to use that leg he will have to abide by it.

"I wonder what Selphie and Zell are doing." Squall wanders to the door. "Hopefully nothing crazy because she is flying this ship."

"With chicken-wuss up there with her? I doubt that." Seifer snickers. He stands up after Squall. I look at him, limping a little with that cane in his hand. It makes him look so . . . vulnerable. Seifer Almasy looking vulnerable, who would've thought?

It's nice, though. I'm pretty sure Squall thinks the same thing. Until now, only he had seen the softer side of his lover. He wouldn't mind everyone else knows a bit.

"Quistis, you're turning into Icecube over there. Stop thinking all the time! Or at least say it out loud or something." Irvine says to me.

"She's probably trying to distract herself so she won't have to tell you to stop feeling her up." Seifer retorts.

Irvine's voice raises a pitch. "And what have you been doing to Squall for the past hour or so?"

"You weren't asleep?" Squall arches his eyebrow.

"What did I tell ya? He was faking it!" Seifer remarks.

Squall look shocked. "Then why didn't you stop when you know Irvine's awake? That means -"

"I heard every single thing you two said, and yes, I regretted that I didn't really fall asleep." Irvine snorts. "You would think the leg wound would slow down at least some of your advances, Seifer, but I guess n-"

"Shut up!" the accused attempts to swing the cane at him.

I laugh out loud at this. "As much as I love to hear this conversation continue, don't you think we should at least check on the two up there? They're quiet, and that usually is not a good thing."

Just as I said that, a loud crash sounds from above. Following sharply is a shriek from Selphie. The ship shakes violently as the intercom suddenly snaps on. "STOP IT! I'M FLYING THIS SHIP!"

"OKAY OKAY! I'M SORRY! Goodness gracious, girl! My neck IS broken so you don't have to hit THAT hard. Man!" Zell stumps.

Seifer rolls his eyes and walks to the speaker. "Hey, you two, we do like to arrive in Esthar in one piece, you know. So whatever y'all were doing, save it for the Hotel when we land in the city, will ya? And chicken-wuss, sit down."

"Seifer, fuck you!" comes Zell's reply.

"You won't." Seifer clicks the intercom off before he hears Zell's reply. I laugh out loud again. Irvine is also shaking with laughter. Squall puts his fingers on the bridge of his nose and sighs.

"Okay," Selphie's voice booms from the overhead announcer. "Since I'm flying the ship and I control the thing, and you just insulted my boyfriend and me, I'm gonna play pop music really really loudly for the rest of the trip. Oh, and your door's locked. Tee-hee, have fun."

"NO!" All four of us exclaim simultaneously as the door clicks shut. Yikes, Selphie's getting harsh. I think Seifer may not want to pick on Zell so often in the future anymore.

"She's so gonna get it when we land. Just you wait . . . " Seifer grumbles. It is an empty threat and he knows it. He sits back down on the sofa across from me, bringing Squall down with him.

"Anyone got a CD player with headphones?" Irvine asks feebly.

"Yeah, in another room." Squall scoffs. "This is worse than any torture."

"Oh, come on," I say to him. "It can't be that bad." Both he and Seifer look at me like I have three ears. "I'm serious. I've heard some of Selphie's music and she does not listen to sugary sweet pop all the time."

"So what does she listen to?" Squall asks.

"She listens to -"

_Where's all my soul sisters  
__Let me hear ya flow, sisters  
__Hey sister, go sister, soul sister, flow sister  
__Hey sister, go sister, soul sister, go sister _

" - things like that." I finish. "Lady Marmalade", the new remix, too. Even though I'm not quite into pop, an hour of this kind is endurable.

But the guys are all miserable about it. I smile as an idea forms in my head. "Oh, lighten up." I start to sing along with it. Haha, their expressions are worth a million Gils.

A smirk spreads slowly onto Squall's face. Seifer notices it, and groans loudly. "God, I'm stuck in a room with morons who have no taste in music. Fine!"

"Too bad for you." Irvine also catches on with what I'm doing. We're going to drive Seifer insane. It's actually quite entertaining.

I can get used to this. Isn't it sad we only start to value what we have after a huge tragedy? I put my hand on top of Irvine's hands on my stomach, and he wraps his arm tighter around me by reflex. Secure.

I smile again for the nth time ever since I was awake. Genuine happiness fills my senses. I am actually looking forward to this vacation and cannot wait for it to start. When was the last time I was truly excited about some trip? This feels like a picnic we had gone to when we're still Matron's children. We still _are_ Matron's children.

I close my eyes for a brief second, drowning in this atmosphere of . . . compassion. Friendship. Home.

Love.

I feel safe.

**END

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